


Turned Around

by Kinkylittlewolf, phoenixreal



Category: Bleach
Genre: Acceptance, Acceptance of Sexuality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Fisting, Anal Sex, BAMF Ichigo, BDSM, Bondage and Discipline, Bottom Ichigo, Cock & Ball Torture, Cock Cages, Collars, Control, Dom Renji, Dom Yumichika, Dom/sub, Dom/sub Play, Domme Rukia, Double Anal Penetration, F/F, F/M, Fetish, Figging, Flogging, Healing, Heavy BDSM, Hollow Transformations, Improvised Sex Toys, Japanese Rope Bondage, Leashes, Lemon, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Master/Pet, Needy Ichigo, Paddling, Polyamory, Prostate Milking, Public Discipline, Public Scene, Restraints, Risk Aware Consensual Kink, Scening, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Seme Ikkaku, Seme Yumichika, Sex Toys, Sex Toys Under Clothing, Sexual Content, Sexual Identity, Spanking, Sub Ikkaku, Threesome - M/M/M, Total Power Exchange, Training, Uke Ichigo, Uke Kuchiki Byakuya, Uke Uryuu, Vibrators, Zanpakutou, boys in panties, sub Byakuya, sub Ishida Uryuu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:56:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1374628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinkylittlewolf/pseuds/Kinkylittlewolf, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixreal/pseuds/phoenixreal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cannon Divergent from the fight with Nnoitra in Las Noches. Ichigo experiences the surging anger of the hollow as he takes revenge on Aizen. Afterward, dying and unable to heal fast enough, the hollow uses the hogyuko to save himself and Ichigo. Fourteen months later, Ichigo awakens again to the surprise of soul society and his friends.  Now with more power than he can control, he finds himself spiraling out of control, and comes to nearly let himself go completely.  A certain peacock steps in and decides it is up to him and Ikkaku to give the confused and lost substitute shinigami what he needs, even if he doesn't know it yet.</p><p>IkkakuXIchigoXYumichika</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unusual Happening

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, lovely readers. Once more I am thanking Ms. Kinkylittlewolf for her help with this one, she is magnificent! Now, onward to what this is about. This is a hardcore bondage/fetish cannon divergent Bleach fanfiction. If you aren’t into it, please click back. If you are, welcome. This fiction features a total power exchange. If you are unfamiliar with the term, you are not alone. (tpemaster .com is one of the research tools I used to find out more). I must point out that this is not a complete TPE (Master/Slave). The situation I’m crafting is a Master/Pet relationship with “safe” features usually not present in a TPE. 
> 
> I need to make this clear: ALL SITUATIONS IN THE RELATIONSHIP ARE CONSENSUAL. TPE is, essentially, consensual slavery. In the story, there is a contract writing, and during this time, use of a lot of information informing the sub of what could happen, what will happen, and what is expected. Our sub does not go into the situation without foreknowledge of what he is doing. The Dom is very clear and makes certain this is what the sub desires before completely falling into role. In a TPE, the Dom/sub roles do not stop as in most regular D/s relationships, and the Dom in this case takes total control of the sub’s life, as is explained. In this case, however, the sub has a “safe” person if he decides he needs to change something without breaking role as the Pet to his master. This story uses the concept of Risk Aware Consensual Kink, meaning all parties are aware of what is happening at all times, even if the characters are acting otherwise. They have agreed to these things during the contract negotiation period. Please keep this in mind. The sub may be “virginal” at the beginning, but he is certainly not unaware of what he has chosen to take part in. 
> 
> There is talk of discipline, both public and private. This is not a humiliation story. Characters are not out to humiliate the others in any way. This is a story about control, and at the depths, love and unconditional caring for another person when they need it most. 
> 
> You will also notice that there is a higher degree of acceleration than what is normal in real life situations. This is because the Dom in this case has a lot more experience due to advanced age, as well as extensive training as a sub beforehand. We are also not dealing with humans, and the situation calls for the Dom to take as much control as quickly as he can in order to keep our sub from self-destructing. If it seems somewhat rushed, this is the reason. 
> 
> DO NOT attempt to mimic the training process I describe, it is NOT safe. This is fantasy BDSM set in Soul Society with Shinigami who have accelerated healing, more pain tolerance, and much different abilities than real life humans.
> 
> If you are interested in more details about BDSM and the BDSM lifestyle, I highly recommend the following pages that I used for research purposes:  
> Collar ‘n Cuffs: collarncuffs. com  
> 50 Shades to BDSM: 50shadestobdsm. com  
> A Submissive’s Initiative: asibdsm. Com
> 
> So to summarize:  
> WARNINGS: Will not be repeated again, appear here in the first chapter only.  
> Graphic depictions of BDSM scenes  
> Graphic depictions of consensual actions that would be considered sexual torture if they were non-consensual  
> Master/Pet relations  
> Use of toys, flogging, spanking, rope binding, and all sorts of imporovised things.  
> Graphic Lemons
> 
> I don’t own Bleach, and don’t get money off this but I certainly hope you enjoy this version of the BDSM lifestyle I have created for Soul Society.

       

Something incredible and strange happened and it happened so quickly that Ichigo wasn’t quite sure exactly what was going on. Who would have guessed that something so strange would have come out of the whole situation?  Ichigo certainly didn’t. How would he know that in a matter of minutes, his entire world would be altered so drastically? How could he have imagined that his life would be, once again, turned completely around in a different direction? Ichigo had gotten used to the new world he’d been pulled into, but it hadn’t been easy. He had been fighting and fighting and all the time something was building inside of him, something that he couldn’t identify.

That tall freak and his fraccion had nearly been the end of him.  He was relatively certain that he had every bone in his body broken and almost every organ punctured by the time he hit the dirt.  He was very glad that his body was tougher in soul form.  Kenpachi showed up and took him on and was really enjoying himself.  He was glad that at least someone was getting some fun out of encountering the bastard.  What was it with these things all trying to kill him, he wondered?  Running into this one after that fight with Grimmjow was bad luck, but for him to try and finish Grimmjow off like that was just…unacceptable.  Grimmjow had given him a good fight, a fair fight, and he wasn’t going to allow this guy to just kill him for no reason at all.  However, at least he had Orihime around now to heal him.  He was very glad of that at least.  While Orihime was healing him he realized he was positively exhausted, in a way he’d never experienced before.  He’d been tired after fights, but when Orihime healed him with her powers, the exhaustion faded.  He didn’t know what was different this time.  All he knew was that he wasn’t able to comprehend the thoughts going through his own mind as he watched the battle.  He was reminded of his own fight with Kenpachi and almost felt sorry for the fifth espada.  Almost.

        Ichigo didn’t think much more of it for the moment.  The fight continued, and then Kenpachi won, time seemingly skipping forward somehow when he was distracted.  Kenpachi looked like hell, but he’d killed the multi-armed bastard.  Still, the strange exhaustion was holding to him. Never before had he felt like this when Orihime healed him. His mind was spinning and reeling for some reason.  It was almost more than Ichigo could stand as he looked up through the shield.  Yachiru was happy; he could hear her clapping and cheering excitedly for Kenpachi.  She came running over to where Ichigo was laying under Orihime’s golden shield and smiled.

“Ichigo?” she asked as she came closer.  “Are you feeling better?”

Ichigo nodded.  “Thanks, Yachiru.  Is Kenpachi okay?”

She gave a brilliant smile.  “Keni-chan is very happy, Ichi-chan!”

Ichigo smiled and felt suddenly drained of energy even more than before, as if the very last reserves of his strength and energy were being drawn away rapidly and black began to tint the edges of his vision.  His eyes rolled up into his head and the world wavered around him.  He vaguely heard Orihime’s frantic yelling.  Something was wrong, really wrong, and he had no idea what it was as the world seemed to slip and fall around him. 

 _Shh, King,_ came a familiar voice in his mind.  _Shh.  Sleep.  I’ll take care of everything…_   Ichigo fought it, because he knew what that meant. The hollow was going to do something.  But why?  _Shh, my king, my king, you sleep now.  Sleep and when you wake, it will be done._

He wanted to scream at him. His voice wouldn’t come and his world descended into black tinged with red, falling deeper and deeper until he felt his body covered in warm water.

Orhime screamed when his eyes rolled up and he fell backward into the sands.  There was nothing wrong with him.  She’d healed everything, he should have been better, not worse.

“Ichigo!” she cried, the shield shattering and she reached down and shook him.

Nel crawled over to him and began to lick him; her childlike mind supplying that hurt meant he needed healing.  Yachiru frowned and looked at Orihime and back at Ichigo.  Nel sat back suddenly and frowned.  Orihime was still surprised at the odd transformation between Nel the child and Nel the ex-third espada.

“That’s not Itsygo.”

Orihime looked down at him and back at Nel.  “What do you mean?”

She shook her head.  “Not Itsygo,” she said and began to back away from Ichigo until she was pressed up against someone behind her.  “Not Itsygo, hollow.”

“No, what…” Orihime began and looked down. Kenpachi had come back over and watched beside Yachiru.

Ichigo’s body arched up impossibly and a piercing hollow howl rang from his body. Nel covered her ears but her eyes never left Ichigo. Then the black and red reiatsu began to whip outward around him.  Orihime stepped back and watched as a hollow hole began to form in his chest and his eyes opened glowing bright red.  The color began to leech from his skin and the foaming of a mask came from his mouth and nose and resolved into a horned mask.  His body fell back for a moment then he picked up one black nailed hand and cracked the bones in it and began to laugh in a strange tone behind the mask.

“Sorry, King,” it said and he leaped and stood, a completely different creature than the one that had lay there before. 

If it hadn’t been for the brilliant orange hair, now lying well past his waist, they wouldn’t know it was their friend. It formed a wild corona around his head still, fluttering as he moved. The creature had cuffs of orange fur or hair or something around his wrists, and the skin was pure white. He lifted Zangetsu and sliced at the air.  “Sorry, my king, but this horse has business with a certain Shinigami who tried to cut us in half.”

“You’re going after Aizen?” Orihime gasped. “Who are you? What are you?”

The hollow Ichigo turned and looked at her, glowing eyes boring into her very soul it seemed.  “Yes, princess.  I go to kill him.  Actually, no.  I’m going to consume the bastard’s soul.  Would you care to watch, princess?  And since I doubt very much I’ll get this chance again, I’ll be taking the chance to consume as many arrancar souls along the way as I can.”

“Who are you?” she asked again, holding her hand to her mouth. 

“I’m Ichigo, who else?” he asked with a mad giggle.

“No, no you can’t be Ichigo,” Orihime whispered with a gasping breath.

He threw his head back and howled a noise that made the ground under them vibrate.  “Oh, but I am, princess.  I’m the part he doesn’t want you to see.  I’m the part he keeps locked away.  See, there’s a lot you don’t know; all of you are so stupid.” 

Kenpachi stared at him and the hollow Ichigo was suddenly in front of him.  Kenpachi didn’t even blink, just grinned at him wondering if he was going to fight again so soon.  The hollow Ichigo just grinned and winked one red eye, and then he was gone in a loud blast of sonido, leaving the group stunned, staring where he had been.

“Not Itsygo,” Nel said, grabbing onto Orihime’s leg.

“Definitely not Ichigo,” she said, holding onto the woman-child. 

It didn’t take long before an enormous explosion rocked the building behind them.   The whole area was shuddering in vibrations and before long they saw Byakuya and Rukia come flashing out toward them, followed by Uryu and Renji, all of which were avoiding whatever destruction was behind them.  Hanataro wasn’t far behind Rukia and Renji.

“Holy hells!” Renji said, dropping to his knees beside the group. Blood dripped down his arm from some sort of wound in his shoulder.  “What is that?  That pink haired freak…he just…like…exploded.  I mean, I didn’t even see what did it!”  He stared at Uryuu to ask if he’d noticed what it was. The whole world had tipped and exploded and Renji wasn’t even sure what had hit him.

_Ichigo felt trapped, like he was locked away in a jail cell or a tiny box. He was in his inner world, but it wasn’t right. There was something wrong with it. He was could feel something holding him in place, almost like there was a box around him. He could see outside to his inner world, and he could see the old man standing in the distance. His black cloak flapped behind him but he didn’t look at Ichigo. Ichigo screamed and screamed to be released but it was no use.  Water lapped at his ankles now as rain began to fall in the world around him._

_“Please, stop!” he begged._

_For the first time he realized how tenuous his hold on the hollow really was within him.  If the injury he suffered from the quinta espada was enough to make him lose control, he sure wasn’t keen on finding out what happened if he actually came closer than that to death._

_“Death is not an option, King,” came the hollow’s voice in his mind.  Ichigo cringed and crouched in the water at the loudness of it.  Did his voice sound that loud when he directed it inward?_

_“You aren’t strong enough to sound this loud, King, sorry,” the voice said, even louder._

_Ichigo whimpered this time, cradling his head.  He wanted him to stop.  He heard a tch and then there were no more words directed at him but he could see the outside world at the same time as the inner world.  It was a head spinning effect, like double vision with two completely different scenes playing.  First they came upon a lower ranking arrancar, one who announced himself as a fraccion of Lord Barragan, but the hollow proceeded to devour him moments later.  Ichigo tried to close his eyes but the outward scenes kept playing behind his eyelids.  The violence that the hollow attacked the things around him was like nothing Ichigo had ever seen._

_He moved on, coming across several more fraccion, and then several others that he didn’t even bother to acknowledge, he simply consumed them.  Ichigo was wailing against the walls of the cage at him to stop, please stop._

_“I can’t stop, Ichigo, I’m…sorry…” came the reverberating reply and Ichigo dropped to his knees and began to weep because he couldn’t do anything else.  So much blood, bone…and the worst was the souls felt so good. It was like eating the best comforting food in the whole world but amplified. He felt warm and high at the same time. He wanted more of it. That, more than anything made him sick and want to curl into a ball and die.  Each consumption sent shocks and thrills of power through every part of him, and then he saw Renji and Uryuu._

_“Don’t hurt my friends, whatever you do, please!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.  “I won’t fight you anymore in here, just don’t hurt them!”_

_“You got it, King, but I’ll hold you to your word,” he said, and suddenly the pink haired arrancar was falling dead under his claws and his soul…oh his soul was so powerful…_

_The sheer reiatsu of that soul knocked Ichigo back into the wall of this strange, transparent box.  This was an espada.  He gasped and felt overwhelmed as the world spun sickly and there was Gin, wide eyed and fleeing.  Ichigo knew that Tōsen would be near, and then he was on Tosen, ripping his limbs from his body. Ichigo tried to block it, he wanted to do anything but watch, but then he found that a shinigami soul was even greater than an espada…_

_Aizen stood his ground.  Trying to use his sword, but it had no effect on Ichigo’s hollow.  He heard words, and felt the blast of kido, binding kidos slid off him like he was untouchable.  Red ceros blasted the world around them and Ichigo was silent._

_A blue light, it was blinding in the intensity and the power, and he wanted it.  Aizen was using it somehow to try and heal the damage that the hollow was inflicting on him.  Ichigo was on the verge of passing out inside the inner world as he began to ritualistically pull Aizen to pieces.  He was injured though, even after Aizen’s soul had been devoured, and he wasn’t healing like he should be. The world hurt and everything was coming apart. The cage around him exploded in shattering shards, the hollow unable to continue to hold him as injured as he was. The hollow called out in pain and triumph, and Ichigo swore his vision was wavering at the edges even though he was technically not even conscious. Could someone pass out while they were unconscious?_

_“Ichigo, rest, you will rest for a while…”_

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

A hollow scream resounded around them all. It was followed by the manic laughter that Orihime had heard not too long before.  Nel sighed.  “Not Itsygo.”

Byakuya looked at her slowly. “What does she mean?”

“I…it…I don’t…” Orihime stammered.  “It wasn’t him.  It was…I don’t know what it was.  It said it was going to deal with Aizen.  Now.  And…then he was gone.”

There was a louder explosion and something was streaking toward them with a loud sonido.  The hollow Ichigo landed in the middle of the group, dropping to his knees and causing the sand to explode outward onto the others.  He was covered in blood, so much that it was hard to tell that his flesh was pure white.  He clutched something in one of his clawed hands.  He held it up and examined it thoughtfully.  Byakuya frowned as he realized it was the hogyuku.

“Bastard,” he muttered.  “Pulling this on me…”  He smiled under his mask as it shattered revealing the white faced Ichigo with the eerie black and gold eyes underneath.  “May as well.  Gonna die if I don’t…” he said, staring into the blue orb.

“What do you mean?” Orihime said, staring at the creature inside Ichigo’s body.

“See, I’m going back, and King here is gonna die because he doesn’t have my instant regeneration, but if I stay, he’s gonna die because he’ll burn himself out.  So I got myself a problem.  Either way, we die. I don’t know if this will work, y’know. I really don’t. But I’m gonna try because I don’t go down without a fight, and neither does my King,” he said with a sigh. Before anyone could even move, he pressed the glowing blue orb against the hollow hole in his chest.

The explosion of energy knocked everyone flat, even Kenpachi and Byakuya. Kenpachi stumbled to his feet first and helped Yachiru stand up. Byakuya managed to shake off the effects easily enough and helped the others get up. There was a depression left in the sand where the power had knocked out the earth inside it. Renji and Rukia, once they could stand, ran for the edge of the hole. Renji gasped and stared at what looked like Ichigo again. The others came up around them and watched as he stood there for a long moment wobbling. The color had returned to his flesh and his eyes were brown but wide.  His mouth hung slack as ribbons of blue energy shot through his limbs from the dark circle that had formed in the center of his chest.  Most of his shihakuso had been obliterated, leaving his chest and half of his legs exposed, and they could see how the bright blue seemed to light up his veins throughout his whole body.

He swallowed hard.  “Fuckin’…hollow…bastard…what’d…you…do…” he gasped and collapsed backward into a heap. 

Orihime threw her shield on him as she slid down into the hole he was in. She gasped because there was nothing to heal. She sat back on her heels and looked up as the others slid down into the area. and looked at those gathered.  No one had any idea what had just happened around them. Renji knelt down beside Ichigo’s now unconscious body and touched the strange black spot in his chest where the hollow hole had opened. It was cold, unnaturally so. He looked at the others. Byakuya leaned over where he lay and pulled up his eyelid to see if his eyes were indeed normal. He found them to be white and brown as they should be.

“What happened?” Rukia gasped, trying to understand this. “How…what…”

Byakuya shook his head. “That thing, I’ve seen it before, but nowhere near that powerful.”

Orihime and Uryu had stepped back from him in utterly shocked silence. Nel still clung to Orihime’s leg tightly and then she smiled.

“Itsygo back,” she said with surety. “I like that Itsygo is back. He sleepin’.”

  Byakuya’s head snapped up, his keen hearing catching the sound of a sonido. At the edge of the hole stood a pair of Arrancar. One was taller with wavy brown hair and a look of utter disinterest on his face. The shorter of the two had green hair and a very minimal looking outfit on. The female was standing with her hands on her hips and had a look of sheer annoyance on her face.

“ _Perdoname_ , please, you may return.  This is over.  Aizen’s time here is done, Tōsen is dead, and Gin has disappeared.  The traitors of your realm are gone, as are those of our realm that would do you revenge.  We ask that you return and let us tend our wounded.  Your savior has ensured that no harm will befall you.  None of the espada will move against him, not after the souls he has consumed this day,” he said as he yawned widely.

He shook his head and then the pair of them disappeared.

“Just what the hell happened?” Renji asked, staring at the unconscious form and back to the others.

Kenpachi shrugged and picked up the substitute shinigami and headed back to where the garganta would open to take them home.  What else could they do?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo woke up with a scream and lay panting, hands clutched against his chest with his eyes squeezed shut. In his mind, he was reliving what the hollow had done with his body.  And he knew that he would never get the blood off of him again.  Images of ripping apart arrancar and consuming their souls amid manic laughter filled his mind.  The sound of Zangetsu slicing into flesh and bone and ripping out pieces was too loud, and the feeling of blood spraying against his skin was too strong.  The most horrible of all, however, was how incredibly _good_ consuming the souls had felt. It felt like the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted and the warmth that he needed. The only thing that seemed to make his insides become less like ice.

Aizen’s face, Tōsen’s face, Gin as he flashed away, eyes wide and showing true fear…  Then the pink haired espada as his life was let, and his souls became part of Ichigo’s being…the other lesser arrancar that had been in between the hollow and Aizen and their surprise and fear as the overpowering reiatsu nearly crushed them to the ground.  There were other fraccion of some of the espada, he knew, they’d called their masters’ names as they died, but he didn’t know which ones.  Vaguely, he remembered flashes of color and looks of sheer terror at what he was, but that was all.  It was all so clear sometimes when he thought about it but others it was like looking through mud.

“Ichigo?” a familiar voice, but he jumped anyway and looked over, realizing he wasn’t where he had been before.  He saw that Rukia was standing in the doorway, and he was in the fourth division.

“Rukia,” he said hoarsely, coughing as his throat tried to lock up on him. He forced himself to sit up slowly and tried to control his lungs. A glass of water was pressed into his hand.  He drank it like a man dying of thirst.  He felt like he hadn’t drunk in months…wait…how long had it been?

He reached up and felt his hair, which was now below his shoulders by quite a bit.  “How long?” he croaked; his voice was still weak from disuse and it was then he realized he was exhausted, but a different kind of exhausted than he had been when the hollow was syphoning his energy to use for himself.  Every bit of him felt weak; his muscles were jellylike and didn’t really want to answer him when he sent signals to do something.

“Ichigo, please, you’ve been asleep for a while, and we…we weren’t sure if you’d ever wake up,” she said, and Ichigo saw the tears sparkling in her eyes.  It had been a long while, he knew, if Rukia was this upset.  “We didn’t know what to do.  We couldn’t do anything, whatever we tried, your reiatsu would react and we just couldn’t do anything. Even Unohana-taichou couldn’t tell what was causing it.  And Urahara is here and he and Kurotsuchi-taichou have been working nonstop to understand what happened when you took the hogyuku into you like that…”

He tipped his head upward and stared at the ceiling. His eyes focused on the plainness of it all. It wasn’t red, and that was what mattered.  “How long?”

“Fourteen months,” she said softly.  “It…it’s been fourteen months.”

“Wow. How do you like that?” he said softly, laying back on the bed and falling asleep again, mentally calculating and realizing that two of his birthdays had passed while he was asleep.  That had to have been hard on Karin and Yuzu, he thought as consciousness faded.

Rukia let her tears fall then as she ran from the room and found the taichou and Urahara who were conferring on the latest readings they’d gotten. Over the last fourteen months, their routine had become so normal to them. Every morning, Urahara would come in and take the readings from the machines to compare them with the rest of them. Then someone, usually Rukia or Renji, would come and talk to him. They had no idea if he could hear them, or even if he would ever wake again. Still, even after over a year, they tried so hard just to bring him back. Others had given up, of course. It had been so long, how could they not? Rukia, though, she couldn’t give up. She just wouldn’t do that.

 Before long, the room was filled with machines and people trying to figure out what had woken him up finally.  Urahara leaned against the wall outside the room after he’d done his scans. 

Renji and Rukia both stood and stared at him.  He exhaled a long breath.  “It seems I was right in a way when I hypothesized that the hogyuku had to mature.  It seems to have taken a year to fully awaken and repair the damage to his soul that the hollow’s attacks inflicted on him.  I’ve never seen anyone recover from that kind of damage, and only the hogyuku could have done it.  The hollow used his body to consume the souls of several arrancar and espada, as well as Aizen and Tōsen.  That isn’t something that shinigami can handle.  It damaged the soul deeply, from what I can tell, but the hogyuku was able to heal it.  And we still don’t know what sort of attacks Aizen and the others launched against him while in that form.  I’ll contact Isshin; will you go get Uryu-san, Chado-san, and Inoue-san?  I am certain they will want to know that Ichigo has come around finally.”

Rukia and Renji nodded and were through the senkaimon at Kuchiki manor before the hour was up.  They flashed onto the roof of the school and found Chad, Uryu and Orihime eating lunch with Tatsuki and their other human friends.  Neither of them cared that some of them saw the shinigami.  The look on Rukia and Renji’s faces made the three stand up and Rukia nodded to them.  There were only two reasons that Rukia and Renji would come to them this urgently.  One of those reasons no one wanted to even think of.  Thankfully, it was the second reason.

“He’s awake.”

Orhime burst into instant tears and Uryu closed his eyes.  Tatsuki was frowning and knew that they were talking about Ichigo.  There had been a lot of things that had gone on since she’d witnessed Ichigo leaving this world for the other, and she knew what had happened. She’d made Orihime tell her everything. It had taken a bit for her to understand what had happened, but she felt at least some relief that the person that currently ran around in Ichigo’s body was not actually him. With the exception of those that sat on this roof, no one else realized that Ichigo was really gone. It had been odd, trying to act like Kon was her friend. She never could really act the same with him, though.  Tatsuki held Orihime up and nodded to the others as they all went down the stairs. 

Rukia and Renji led them on a quick walk to the shoten so they could leave through the Kuchiki senkaimon. No one spoke as they walked together. Of course, most people didn’t see Rukia and Renji in their shinigami forms, and only saw the four others. Orihime was still weeping softly, tears falling down her cheeks in a steady stream.

“What happened?  He just woke up?” Orihime said softly as Rukia used her zanpautou to open the senkaimon.

Rukia nodded.  “Urahara-san thinks that it was the hogyuku, it took it a year to awaken and repair the damage the hollow caused and what Aizen and Tōsen had done to him in that fight.  We may never know for sure,” she stepped back so the humans could cross over. “But he woke up.  That’s what matters.  The head captain said I can bring you all through with me, and his dad and sisters will come through with someone else.  But we should go, everyone else is already there.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The next time he woke up he was screaming again.  It was disconcerting, and he felt unsteady as his mind reeled with the images of blood and bone and screams.  He sat straight up and panted with a hand to his chest for a long time until he looked down and realized that there were black streaks coming from the center of his chest where a black inky spot rested. At the center, there was a tiny speck of blue. He put his hand against the black circle and it felt cold, deathly cold. Ichigo reached up to his face and didn’t feel the mask. He jumped up from the bed and moved toward the mirror. He had a hunch he needed to confirm. He was clutching the sheet around his waist as he moved, realizing he was half naked, but he guessed he’d find his kusodo and hakama soon enough. He supposed it made sense, if he’d been knocked out for the last fourteen months, they’d have to keep an eye on his chest where this strange spot rested.

As he got closer to the mirror he sighed. It was just as he had feared.  His face was marked with the red streaks like his mask was when he used it. He’d obviously aged as well, but it wasn’t as obvious. It wasn’t like he’d been here fourteen years, and the soul forms didn’t really age the same way human bodies did. His eyes had bags under them and he looked very tired to his thinking. He reached up and felt over his shoulders and saw that the black streaks that moved outward from the circle in his chest went over his back and down past his waist. He swallowed and sighed deeply.

_Sorry King, but what I did, what we did, left a mark.  Ya can’t consume souls and not come closer to being a hollow.  And well, I have ta say, King, that was a feast fit for a…well, a King._

“You’re up,” came a voice from the doorway, startling Ichigo out of his one-sided discussion with the hollow inside him.

Ichigo turned and saw Isane smiling at him.  She looked the same, of course she did, and she wasn’t human.  Well, he supposed technically neither was he, especially not anymore.  The hollow was right.  He felt different, less human than ever before. His whole being seemed to be wracked with the desire to let the hollow resume control and consume more. It was as though a ravaging hunger had taken place in his soul. He felt like the urge was almost too much to bear. He hoped that he could handle it. He couldn’t smile, even at someone as sweet as Isane.  He nodded at her and she handed him his shihakuso.

“Thought you might want to get dressed before your friends come from the world of the living,” she said and left.

Ichigo sighed deeply and stared at the black fabric. This was supposed to be spun from his own soul, and yet it felt foreign to him. He shook the feeling away and dressed slowly. His whole body felt slack or something but he supposed fourteen months would take a toll even on soul form in one way or another. She hadn’t brought him tabi or sandals though, but he was tired out already.  He sat back down on the bed and waited.  It took a few minutes before there was a knock and the door opened to reveal Rukia leading his human friends.  He smiled and was hugged immediately by Inoue.  He smiled and patted her gently.  Ishida stood back and nodded at him, and Tatsuki hugged him after Inoue finally extracted herself.  Chad nodded to him as well.  Renji came in then and shook his head.

“Man, you take a nap, you really take a nap,” the red head commented. 

“Yeah, seems so,” he said, rubbing his chest thoughtfully.  He’d pulled the kusodo over the black marks as much as he could but it wasn’t enough, Tatsuki pulled his hands away and stared.

“What’s this?” she said, touching the black streaks with her fingers and looking up at Ichigo’s face, now streaked red.  “And this?” she said touching his facial marks. She, of course, hadn’t been to see Ichigo in the time he’d been gone. She’d heard from Orihime and Uryu that he had changed somehow, but she was still surprised.

Ichigo shook his head.  “I don’t know what’s going on, just woke up, remember?” he said tiredly.  How was he supposed to explain that his humanity was slowly being drained away by what he was becoming?  He couldn’t think about anything, though.  Why was the energy draining out of his so quickly?

He fell forward into Tatsuki before he sat up and blinked.  She frowned at him. 

“Ichigo, you’re going to be weaker than normal for a while.  Most people who have been unconscious for over a year can’t even stand for weeks.  For you to be up and around, even if exhausted, is amazing,” Inoue supplied from behind her.

Ichigo nodded.  “Yeah, but I don’t know about the markings.  If they’re permanent and if they transfer to my human body…if I can even go back to my human body even…”

“They do, and you can’t, I fear,” came Urahara’s voice from the doorway as he leaned against it.  Everyone gaped at Isshin who stood in a shihakuso and a captain’s haori over his shoulder beside Urahara.

Urahara slowly escorted the others out of the room so Ichigo could speak to Isshin alone. They didn’t want to leave, of course, but he explained that there was a lot for Ichigo to know about.

“Yo, goat face,” Ichigo said.  “I’d be surprised if I wasn’t so damn tired…”

“It’s okay son, but to explain, it seems that whatever the hogyuku did it unlocked whatever powers were hidden.  I guess the hollow soul and the Quincy powers have somehow come to coexist along with your own shinigami powers… Your power has increased so much you can’t go back to the world of the living at all, I’m afraid.”

“Quincy?” Ichigo asked, brows scrunching.

“Your mother was a Quincy.  And my name isn’t really Kurosaki, it is Shiba.  So, while you are here, I am sure Kukaku and Ganju will see to your needs.  Once you are settled in whatever division you train with to get your strength back, I’ll bring Karin and Yuzu to see you. There are a lot of things to discuss, my son, but now isn’t the time. You need your rest right now.”

Ichigo nodded but before he even realized it, he’d collapsed into Isshin’s arms. Urahara came in and helped Isshin get him back on the bed and stared.

“Is he going to be okay?” Isshin asked softly.

“No idea, Isshin. No idea at all. The readings we’re getting right now…I’ve got to be honest, they’re frightening, even by our standards. We thought it would be bad, but this is worse than I imagined. The hollow energy he emits is nearly overtaking the shinigami energy. I don’t know if he’ll be able to handle it for long,” Urahara said and ran a hand over Ichigo’s brow.

“He dreams about it,” Isshin said as he watched Ichigo’s eyes flutter behind his eyelids. It was obvious he was dreaming, or perhaps remembering.

Urahara nodded. “Yeah, and I don’t know if any soul, no matter how powerful, can last like that.”

 


	2. Spiraling Out of Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revising and revamping so sorry if there are gaps as I restructure. (August 2016)

Ichigo woke up the next time with more than a scream. He yelled out and ended up falling off the bed completely in his panic. He sat up on the floor, finding someone had put him in a yukata. He looked up to see Isane again.

“Ichigo, well, glad you are with us again,” she said, smiling and helping him stand up.

“I feel weird still,” he muttered as she got him on the bed.

She patted his shoulder. “You’ve had another long nap,” she said with a smile. When his face changed, though she shook her head. “Only three days, this time,” she reassured as she left the room.

Ichigo leaned his head back and felt like very muscle in his body was stiff and stretched at the same time. He looked up to see that Orihime, Uryu, and Chad had stayed in Soul Society while he was out. Either that or they had left and come back. He honestly didn’t know.

“Sleeping beauty,” he heard and saw Renji come in behind them. “You sure like to sleep a lot for a guy that slept over a year already.”

“Shaddup, Red Pinapple,” Ichigo groused.

“Tch, he’s grumpy today,” Renji said and rolled his eyes.

“Well you’d be grumpy to if you woke up with…” Ichigo choked off his words. He didn’t want to tell them what he felt every time he woke up. He wouldn’t let them know the ache that had settled into him and incredible hunger that he had been left with. They’d throw him into the maggot’s nest for sure if they knew.

Urahara came in and patted Renji’s shoulder. “Go on, I don’t think Ichigo-kun needs someone teasing him. Don’t you have better things to do?”

Renji snorted and headed out of the room. Ichigo picked at the sheet over him as Orihime came over and took his hand in hers.

“I wish I could fix whatever this is,” she said quietly.

“I know,” Ichigo said and looked at Chad and Uryu who were staring at him still. “Um, Pop told me I can’t go home though. But that’s okay. I’m okay. I don’t want to destroy things accidently,” he said with a yawn, lying back in the bed.  “I guess…” he muttered sleepily, falling asleep almost immediately.

Urahara shook his head. “I don’t know how long it will be before he can begin to stay awake for long. I think it best we get you three home. I’ll send Rukia or Renji if anything changes.”

Despite the fact that none of them wanted to leave Ichigo, they knew that he was going to have to be monitored until he could stand to stay awake for longer than a short while. Urahara came back and watched the readings on a monitor for a long time. It was getting worse. The more consciousness Ichigo retained, the stranger the readings became, and frighteningly, the more hollow.

Another two days passed before Ichigo came awake again. He managed to avoid falling off the bed, this time, but he felt like he’d screamed a lot this time before he finally woke up because his throat hurt. That, and the fact that Rukia and Renji were looking at him with concerned faces. His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest, and he was heaving deep breaths.

“You okay?” Rukia asked with deeply concerned eyes.

Ichigo nodded, pushing himself to sit up and resting his head in his hands. “Yeah, just the same thing.”

“Ichigo, what is it you see?” Urahara asked from the other side of the room.

Ichigo swallowed thickly. “Just what he did. What I did, I guess. Over and over, and I can’t make it stop,” he said.

Renji and Rukia exchanged worried glances over the bed at each other. They had never seen Ichigo in this state. Even now, his shoulders were trembling and he seemed to be curled in on himself. Urahara came over and looked at him.

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked.

“I guess, I still feel weak though,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Well, your muscles are practically atrophied from disuse. I’d say that when you feel up to it, you could start working on building your strength again. I think that if you can stay moving for longer periods over the next few days, we might be able to get you boarded with one of the divisions so you can work on that,” Urahara said, glancing at Renji and Rukia as he spoke.

Ichigo nodded. “Alright, well, tell me what I have to do to get out of here and go train.”

Urahara smiled. “Well, you’ll have to be able to stay awake, for one thing. A couple naps are okay, but you’ll need to stay conscious for most of the day. For another, you’ll need to be able to walk at least two laps around the outside of the fourth without passing out due to exhaustion.”

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him. “I can do that now.”

Urahara knew he couldn’t but he had to let him see for himself. Ichigo got himself dressed and then proceeded to make the attempt. After he got halfway to the door outside he found himself leaning heavily against the wall. He looked at Urahara and sighed.

“Okay, okay, I got it…” he muttered and let Renji help him back to his room. He managed to stay awake, though, at least for a couple hours.

Ichigo quickly grew frustrated but finally, after two weeks of daily attempts, he managed to do what Urahara and Unohana wanted him to be able to do before he left. He sat on the bed and waited to see what they had to say. Urahara came in with Renji and Rukia and Urahara shook his head.

“I had anticipated at least a month, but as usual, Ichigo, you exceeded my expectations. Do you know who you would like to work with?” he asked.   

Ichigo nodded.  “Eleventh.”

Rukia frowned and looked at Renji.  “What do you mean?”  They had assumed he would choose either Rukia’s of the thirteenth or Renji’s of the sixth. 

“I’ll train with the eleventh.  If anyone can push me to get myself back to normal, it will be Kenpachi, Ikkaku and Yumichika.  And Kenpachi and Ikkaku are always wanting to get a rematch with me.  Then I don’t have to worry about kido and stuff,” Ichigo said, starting to sag again as he sat there.  He’d already done his laps around the building and was starting to feel it. It didn’t take long before he found himself falling asleep again.

By the end of the next day, they’d arranged everything with the eleventh.  Kenpachi didn’t have spare quarters for him, so he put Ichigo in with Ikkaku and Yumichika.  Considering that he knew both of them pretty well, everyone would be happy with the arrangement.  Well, just in case, Kenpachi sent Yachiru to inform the 3rd and 5th seat of their guest.  They did have one of the larger quarters, after all.  Yachiru knocked happily and Yumichika answered with a yawn wearing his typical floral yukata that he wore when off duty.

“Fuku-taichou?” he said, frowning.  “Come in,” he said as she bounded into the room and jumped onto the counter and grinned at Ikkaku. 

“Cue ball!” she said with a smile.

“What is it?” he asked, taking the pot of noodles from the stove. He’d made it for the two of them, trying to ignore his lieutenant pest.

“You get a houseguest.  Or is it quarter’s guest?  I don’t know.  Anyway, he’ll be here tomorrow,” she said, staring into the pot with a grin.

“Oh no!” Yumichika said with a gasp.  “You are not putting any old ugly creature in this room with us!”  Usually, when given a guest, they were some aged shinigami there for a lesson of some sort with the unit.

“Who said it was an ugly creature?” Yachiru said, eating noodles out of Ikkaku’s bowl as he sat it down at their small table.

Yumichika sat down with a pout on his face.  “Who is it and why are you putting them here?”

Yachiru grinned with a mouthful of noodles.  “Well, where else are we gonna put him?  He wants to train with you and Ken-chan, and you two have the biggest room beside Ken-chan’s.  Besides, he’s got who knows what problems with his powers now…”

“I don’t know, put whoever it is in the common room, wait…” Ikkaku said turned to look at the pink haired demon that had eaten nearly all his dinner.  “Who in their right mind would want to train with the taichou and us?”

Yumichika’s eyes widened.  “No, they’re letting him out?”

Ikkaku took a moment to catch up with Yumichika.  “Ichigo.  He’s the only crazy bastard who would want to train with us.”

Yachiru grinned.  “Of course, Ken-chan is so happy!  But you have to be careful; he’s not doing too well just yet.  Unohana says that he needs to build his strength up to be able to really fight with Ken-chan again.”

The pink haired menace hopped down and ran out of their room, slamming the door.  Ikkaku frowned at his nearly empty bowl of rice noodles.  He glanced up to see Yumichika was blushing.  Ikkaku turned his head to the side and then grinned maliciously.  

“You’re happy about this aren’t you, you little slut,” Ikkaku said, a grin twitching at the corner of his lips.  He was tempting fate by saying it but he couldn’t resist riling Yumichika up sometimes.  Of course, that was the most fun part of their relationship. And he knew he was in for it if he said that.

Yumichika rolled his eyes.  “So he’s pretty.”

“He’s pretty,” Ikkaku echoed and walked around the table and grabbed Yumichika’s bowl and ate about half of it.  “I guess he is pretty.”  He handed the bowl back.

Yumichika stared at the half eaten bowl and scarfed the rest.  “You bastard, I was hungry,” he said and leaped up and tackled the bald man to the ground, flipping him and landing on top of his legs.

“Well, didn’t want to mess up your girlish figure,” Ikkaku said with an arched brow.

“Oh, fuck you, baldy,” he said, sitting back on his heels where he was sitting over Ikkaku’s thighs.

“Hrm, no thanks, but I’ll fuck you,” he said with a lascivious wink.

“You said Ichigo was pretty,” he said, crossing his arms with a frown.

“Ah, babe, don’t be like that.  He is pretty, but you’re the prettiest,” Ikkaku said, rolling his eyes.  “Besides, we don’t even know if he swings in your direction.”

“Your direction too, you pervert,” Yumichika said, feeling Ikkaku already swelling through his hakama.  “Now, are you going to be a good boy? You already earned a good flogging, you realize.”

“Can’t help it if I wouldn’t mind watching someone else fuck you, I think it would be hot.”  He paused and then grinned widely at Yumichika.  “I think I’m a good boy today, Yumi-sama.”

Ikkaku then flipped them and nuzzled into Yumichika’s neck and sucked hard on the pulse point.   Yumichika groaned and all the tension just seemed to flow out of his body.  Ikkaku growled into his ear.  “You know the only thing better than a good fight, is a good fuck afterward.  And sparring with you earlier I was having a hard time not showing how turned on I was.”

“Come on, then, brat,” Yumichika said and gestured toward the bedroom. “I’ve got some work to do before you get to have your fun.”

Ikkaku’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Oh I know, Yumi-sama, I know.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo had no idea what he was getting himself into, of course.  Rukia helped him get to the eleventh where he was met by an overly excited Yachiru. She told him that he’d be staying with Ikkaku and Yumichika. He figured that would be an ideal place for him. He was somewhat scared of being roomed with the other shinigami. He felt like if something happened, if he did lose control, he would hurt one of them easily. He didn’t have to worry about that with Yumichika and Ikkaku. He knew that they would be able to handle him. He hoped that they could, at least.

The walk over to the eleventh had gone as well as expected.  He’d picked up on the stares and muttered grumblings as he passed Shinigami he didn’t know that well.  Rukia had said that rumors were everywhere about him. Some said he died; some that he turned into an arrancar, and others that he lost his powers completely.  And now, he was heading through the Sereitei looking more like a hollow than he had before.  At least his skin had turned back to a normal color instead of staying that pasty white, he thought to himself.  He shook his head as he let Yachiru lead him by the hand to a door.  She knocked on it then opened it without waiting for a response.

It was an atypical barracks style quarters, which is what surprised Ichigo. It was set a bit aside from the regular barracks, obviously made for seated officers to have some privacy. He imagined that there were probably other such quarters set up in the other divisions for the seated officers. He couldn’t imagine that Yachiru and Kenpachi had anything less private. He’d been expecting a ten by ten room with two sets of bunks.  This was nothing like he expected.  A small kitchen space, a living space, and two sliding doors could all be seen from the front door.  He looked around truly surprised.  It looked more like a small apartment than barracks.  Then he heard a noise and Yumichika came running into the room with a wide smile.  Ichigo blinked.  He was wearing a pink yukata and grinning at him, but there was a look in his violet eyes that was…different…somehow.

“Ichigo!” he said and grabbed his hand in a much tighter grip than Ichigo had expected.  “You can stay in this room,” he said, taking him down to a small bedroom that was very similar to his own back in the world of the living except it wasn’t on the second floor. “Ikkaku and I have the other, so this will work for you, unless you want to join us in the other one.” 

Ichigo nodded, mentally acknowledging the fact Yumichika just essentially confirmed his suspicion that the pair was more than friends.  Not that it bothered him; on the contrary, it was just nice that he wasn’t totally oblivious and missing things.  Then he blinked, wondering if he heard him right.  Join them?  What in the world did that mean?  He couldn’t think at the moment, though.  He sighed and stumbled backward, nearly falling into the dark haired fifth seat that caught him with a frown and a soft exhale.

“Sorry, not…used to…tired…” he started but then slumped down further into Yumichika’s grip.  Yumichika frowned and looked at Yachiru.  She shook her head.

“Rukia-chan said he was gonna be like this for a little while until he got back to full strength and that he was gonna have to work really hard.  But she said make sure he rested a lot too,” Yachiru said with another grin and bounded off. 

Yumichika sighed and maneuvered him to the bed and managed to stumble down on top of him, completely on accident.

“Can’t you wait until he’s awake to molest him?” Ikkaku said with a snort from the doorway. 

Yumichika rolled his eyes at Ikkaku and stood up, perhaps a little more slowly than necessary. “Wow, that’s…different.”

Ikkaku came over and looked at what had caught his partner’s attention.  Both were staring at the thick black lines and the circle specked with blue in Ichigo’s chest. Yumichika moved the kusodo open further and pushed it off Ichigo’s shoulders.  The circle covered his sternum and from either side of the circle, three lines ran outward. One pair ran up and over his shoulders near his neck and down his back. The second pair ran over his shoulders about three inches from the first set of lines, falling nearer to shoulder. The final pair of lines ran under his arms and around his back. They had heard about the markings that had been lefton him after the incident in Hueco Mundo, well, they had heard from Yachiru, of course. In some ways, they looked like Renji’s markings.

“Well, that’s definitely new,” he said, frowning.

Yumichika moved him to his side where he could see that all three pair of lines converged at the base of his spine and continued down under his hakama.

He then smiled up at Ikkaku devilishly.

Ikkaku frowned.  “Yumi-sama, what is it?  You’ve got that look…that means trouble…”

Yumichika grinned wider and went and got a set of pajamas from his drawer and looked at Ikkaku with innocent eyes.  “I just want him to sleep comfortably.”

Ikkaku frowned.  “You just want to see his cock.”

Yumichika put his hands on his hips and gave Ikkaku a scandalized look.  “No I don’t, if you must know, I want to see if his hair is that color naturally. And I want to see how far down those markings go. So I just really want to see…well, okay, yes.”

Ikkaku shook his head and stood back as Yumichika quickly stripped the substitute shinigami of his clothes in a few short moments.  Ikkaku had yet to meet another person that could remove clothing faster than Yumichika.  He swore he used kido to help it go faster.  Yumichika stood back to appraise him once he was done, watching as the gooseflesh began to prick along his legs and arms at the cool air, which to Yumichika’s practiced eye meant that he was sensitive to stimulus. Yumichika again looked down his back to find that the black markings moved down at the base of his spine and split again into two. They ran down over his hips and tapered to a point about halfway down the sides of his thighs. Ikkaku arched a brow, giving him an appraising look for himself.  Yumichika noted that there were no markings other than the set of black markings that began at the circle in his chest and the red streaks that ran down his cheeks.

“Well, if he does swing that way, he’s not gonna disappoint you,” Ikkaku said, eying the orange nest of hair on his pelvis and his more than ample equipment.

Yumichika grinned at Ikkaku and slipped the pajamas on Ichigo’s body, and covered him up quickly with the blanket.  “Well, I had to take a peek, just in case he doesn’t.  This way I know what I’ll be missing.” Yumichika smirked at him. “No, you know I just wanted to see what the markings were on him. If they change, we need to know. You know what they’ve said at the meetings…” he said trailing off. His eyes moved back to the sleeping form. “I do hope to engage in something with the boy. But…I think this is different.  He has to swing my way in more than one aspect, Ikkaku…” he said, thoughtfully looking over the sleeping substitute shinigami and chewing his lip.

“Hey, peacock, isn’t this enough for you?  I mean, I know I’m just one man and you are completely insatiable, but…” Ikkaku said, gesturing to his own crotch.

“Well maybe I’d like more than one…or perhaps I want a pet all to myself,” Yumichika said, swishing by him and grinning.

Ikkaku growled and followed him.  “You are such a bitch sometimes,” he said and this time tackled Yumichika to the ground, knowing that he was going to be in trouble later for it.  Ichigo slept on blissfully unaware of the fact that his roommates fully intended to woo and seduce him, should he seem receptive.  Fortunately for his roommates, Ichigo’s own confusion about himself was about to reach a height that he’d never had a chance to experience before his tangles with soul society.  Now, his body had matured, and there were certain needs that were going to arise…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo awoke with a headache. He’d managed over the last two weeks to stop from waking up screaming. He knew that Urahara would never have let him leave the fourth if he knew he was still having the same things rip through his mind every time he slept. He groaned and tried to sit up. Instead, he rolled out of the futon onto the floor with a thump, his body deciding that it really didn’t need to respond to the signals his brain was sending it.  He sighed. He’d had a little trouble when he woke up the last few days. He hadn’t mentioned it to Urahara, though. He was afraid that he wouldn’t let him leave the fourth if he knew. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. He groaned loudly and heard the door slide open.

“Ichigo?” Yumichika’s voice sounding concerned came from the doorway.

“Hum.  Yeah.  Morning,” he muttered into the tatami mat.  At the moment, his range of moment was rather limited, and he was in an awkward position on his stomach, laying on top of his arms with his legs splayed out behind him.  He didn’t realize it, but he was giving Yumichika a spectacular view of his ass.

“Are you okay?” Yumichka said, and Ichigo could see the confused look.  He didn’t even think about the fact that he licked his lips and squirmed.

“No,” he muttered.  “Seems my body has decided it wants to sleep still and won’t move.”

A tingling sensation was working through his torso and into his thighs and arms by now. That had happened the last few days too. He supposed that eventually it was going to stop happening. He was beginning to wonder if not telling Urahara had been the best idea. He hadn’t told them a lot of things, of course. He really didn’t want them to know what was going on in his head. He was more frightened of the Maggot’s Nest than anything else right now. He felt Yumichika’s hands on him lifting him back into the bed with a thump.  Had he always been that strong?  He seemed to remember him being rather petite.  Yumichika’s violet eyes were wide when he turned them on him.

Ichigo slowly raised a hand and smiled at it.  “There, coming back, weird,” he said, flexing his fingers.  “Unohana-taichou said that there would be some odd symptoms off and on.”

“I thought she cleared you completely?” he asked, arching a sculpted brow at him.

Ichigo looked slightly odd for a second. “Um, yeah, I did what her and Urahara wanted me to do to be able to leave, so they said I could leave, and this will go away,” he muttered quickly.

Yumichika looked at him for a long moment. “Ichigo, they don’t know you are having this happen, do they?”

Ichigo gave him with a sheepish look. “Well, they wouldn’t let me leave, and I wanted to get out of there. If I can just work on my strength, it will go away, I’m sure of it.”

Yumichika sat down beside him on the bed as he sat up. “Ichigo, if you’re not well enough to be out here…”

“I am!” he said with insistence. “I just…I just can’t do nothing anymore. I’m going to go crazy if I don’t get out and do something. And the only way is to get strong again so I can be back to normal.”

“Ichigo…okay. Okay. We’ll do some work today, but just a little bit, okay?” Yumichika said, honestly very concerned to hear that there were things Ichigo hadn’t told Urahara and Unohana.

He stood up and took Ichigo’s shihakuso off the dresser and put it on the bed beside him. “Here, go ahead and get dressed, we’ll decide what we’re doing.”

Ichigo nodded and stood up to do it. He wondered though who had changed his clothes? He was about half dressed when Yumichika came back and handed him a cup of tea. Ichigo smiled and thanked him and paused to sip at it. It was very fragrant and he noted that the cup was very fine looking with filigreed design around the rim. He imagined that appropriate for Yumichika.

“So what do you think we should do?” Ichigo asked and looked up at him.

“What do you mean?” Yumichika asked as a slight frown creased his brow momentarily.

“I mean, your division, I don’t know what you want me to do, I mean, I’m not really in shape to spar with you or Kenpachi at the moment…I don’t think I could handle the lowest ranked seated officer at the moment…” he said, dejectedly, swirling the tea in the cup as he thought of how incredibly weak he felt.

“I’m working with the new recruits today,” Yumichika said thoughtfully.  “Why don’t you join them?  They don’t even have their shikais yet, so the work would be very easy. I can give you an unnamed zanpaukto to use, that way you won’t have to use Zangetsu. Though I suppose you’ll still want to take Zangetsu with you.”

Ichigo nodded.  “Sounds good. I’m not leaving Zangetsu alone. I mean, I spent a long time without him,” he said sipping the tea.

Yumichika smiled and patted him on the back gently before he stood.  Yumichika went into the kitchen and growled under his breath and sighed.  Ikkaku came up and wrapped his arms around Yumichika’s waist.  “What is it, Yumi-kun?” he asked.

“I’m not feeling patient, Ikkaku. I want him now. Not just like I have you, I want him completely,” he said, squeezing Ikkaku’s hand tightly.

Ikkaku blinked.  “Hmm, I thought you might change your mind, but I see you haven’t,” Ikkaku said with a nod. They’d discussed this last night at length. It wasn’t like they would undertake what Yumichika had in mind without agreement. “You’ve never wanted someone like that.”

Yumichika smiled, turning in Ikkaku’s grip.  “Yes, I know, but I want to change it.  I want him and you, but I want him to be mine in every way, in all the ways that I am yours.”

Ikkaku smirked. “Don’t be kidding yourself, Yumi- _sama._ I’m yours, not the other way around.  I just do whatever you want me to do…”

“I want…” Yumichika looked up as Ichigo came into the kitchen and sat the cup back down and looked at the pair of them.  Yumichika kissed Ikkaku on the cheek and let go of him.

“Come on, Ichigo, busy day with the new recruits!” Yumichika said, grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the room.

Ikkaku watched and wondered where Yumichika was going with this.  They’d been together forever it seemed, before and after becoming shinigami.  Ikkaku was the strong one, or so it seemed.  Yumichika was obsessed with beauty, especially his own.  Little did others realize that Yumichika saw beauty in many things, including the sing of a whip on skin, and the brilliant red on flesh left by that whip.  He also saw beauty in exercising complete control over someone else.  Ikkaku found that he was the strongest when he let go of all that strength and gave up completely to Yumichika.  It was in that way that they made a complete pair. 

Yumichika, though he controlled every aspect of their bedroom play, always wanted Ikkaku to be on top.  Now, he was indicating he wanted a second aspect to their life… They had of course, at times, discussed the possibility of adding another to their play. Ikkaku had always thought it would be someone on a short term basis, just a dabble. However, he didn’t mind the idea of having another permanent partner. It would make Yumichika happy to do this. Ikkaku couldn’t help but smile because he knew he’d agree to whatever he wanted.  Of course he would, Yumichika was in control the moment the bedroom door closed, and there was never any doubt about that…just the way Ikkaku liked it.


	3. Who's In Control?

Ichigo didn’t know any of the shinigami that were standing in a rank formation waiting for Yumichika.  Honestly, he didn’t know many of the lower shinigami, of course, after sleeping for more than a year, those he did know had moved on in the lines.  As he got closer, he heard a few murmurs and realized that Yumichika was still dragging him along by the hand in a rather intimate fashion.  Oh well, he didn’t really mind. Yumichika was a lot stronger than he was currently in his weakened state anyway.  It was annoying; he wasn’t even as strong as an average human. He felt odd, though, like he was coming out of his skin.

“Recruits, attention, please!” he said, and everyone quieted, staring at the eccentric fifth seat.  Ichigo glanced down where Yumichika was still holding his hand and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks.  This was quite awkward.  Then, his hand was lifted upward sharply.

“This is your training partner for today, and perhaps this week, Ichigo Kurosaki.  He’ll be sparring with you today.  He was just released from fourth yesterday, so do go a bit easy on him.  He’s still in recovery!” he called.

“Is he a member of the eleventh?” asked someone.

Yumichika dropped his hand finally and shook his head.  “Ichigo is not a member of the Gotei 13 currently.  He is a special case here by…”

“Ahh!” Ichigo yelped as a pink haired lieutenant leaped onto his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his forehead.  “Yachiru!” he yelped, reaching up to feel the small body on his shoulders. 

“Ichi, Ichi, Ichi!” she said, smiling and patting him on the head as though he were a drum.

“Yachiru, please get off my head,” he said, stumbling under the small shinigami’s weight.  “Yachiru! Please!”

There were murmured words among the recruits, mostly related to the fact their lieutenant was hugging this person that wasn’t a member of their squad or even the Gotei 13, and he was referring to her in a very informal manner.  She finally dropped down off him and looked up as he wobbled a bit, pushing his longer hair behind his ears.

“Yachiru, are you trying to kill me after I just got out of the fourth?” he said with a sigh.

“Ichi-chan, can you fight Keni-chan today?” she said, hopping on the balls of her feet.

Yumichika sighed and shook his head.  “Fuku-taichou, he hasn’t even gotten on the practice field yet, he can’t fight with taichou yet.”

Yachiru frowned.  “Well, why not?  Aren’t you healed? They let you out, right?”

“I’m healed, Yachiru, but…I’m not back up to fighting Kenpachi right now.  Tell him that I’ll fight him as soon as I can, okay?  But please tell him not to chase me all over the place looking for a fight!” he said, rolling his eyes.  “I don’t feel like running all day.”

“Okay, Ichi-chan, I’ll tell Keni-chan.  Bye!” she called and skipped away.

Ichigo shook his head.  “Yumichika, doesn’t she understand no?”

Yumichika smiled. “I don’t think so, Ichigo.  Now, everyone pair up.  Ichigo, I want you to pair with…Rin.”

Ichigo nodded and met Rin, a short Shinigami with blond hair and bright silvery eyes.  He frowned at Ichigo as he pulled Zangetsu off his back.

“Why’s it in shikai?” he said.

Ichigo frowned and looked at his sword.  “I dunno.  It’s always like this.”

Rin’s eyes widened.  “That’s a huge sword.  You’ll break this one!” he said, holding his unnamed Zanpakutō.

Yumichika came over.  “Problem?” he said, looking at them.

“He’s afraid of Zangetsu being too big,” he said, holding his sword up. 

More than one thought passed through Yumichika’s mind and he sighed, mostly to hide fact he wanted to giggle. He went over to a weapons rack and picked up one of the other swords and brought it back to Ichigo.

“Well, here,” Yumichika handed him a plain Zanpakutō like the others had. “I’ll put Zangetsu over under the tree,” he said and traded swords with Ichigo.

“That better?” he asked Rin and swished the unfamiliar sword in front of him.

“Okay, spar until you start feeling the least bit exhausted, and then break.”  Yumichika walked away to watch. 

Ichigo was slower than he liked, but he was keeping up with the new recruits, so it was something.  After an hour, Yumichika could tell he was desperately holding onto the sword and dropping movements here and there.  Then, in one move, he tripped going over, and Rin’s sword cut into his stomach deeply, spraying blood everywhere.  The collective gasp alerted Yumichika to the occurrence and he raced over to see Ichigo holding a hand to his side where blood was gushing over his hand.

“Oh, dear,” he said, blinking.  “I think…this might be bad.  I’m really wishing now I had hierro instead of whatever the bastard gave me…”

Yumichika looked around.  “Clear back, and go get the taichou, someone!”

“Shouldn’t we get someone from the fourth?” someone yelled.

“Fourth can’t help us now, too late for that,” Yumichika said, shaking his head. He could already feel the rising reiatsu he was emanating. It felt hollow, and he had heard about how he transformed before.  “Ichigo, I told you to stop before you got too tired to keep up.  And you didn’t listen.”

A minute later, Kenpachi and Yachiru appeared.

“Yo, what happened, Ichigo?” he asked.

“Oh, shoulda listened to Yumi…chika…and stopped…when I was tired…keep him…in check, Kenpachi, don’t let… him hurt anyone…okay?” he said, gasping as he leaned forward and the white began to froth out of his mouth and nose, white foam bubbled out of the wound in his side.

Kenpachi reached up and ripped off the eye patch as the reiatsu sent all the new recruits to the ground.  “Kenpachi!” the hollow Ichigo giggled, and looked on the cowering shinigami that were staring at them.  “Good to see ya again, bastard.”   

Ichigo glared at the plain sword. “Now that’s a shitty sword,” he muttered, tossing it aside. He flashed over and grabbed Zangetsu and pointed it at Kenpachi. “Now, gonna give me a fight while I got control?  Don’t think I’ll let King have control back before I have my fun.”

Kenpachi grinned.  “What do you think?”

The hollow Ichigo giggled madly and summoned Tensa Zangetsu before he lit into Kenpachi.  With the instant regeneration of the hollow in effect, every hit was meaningless. The new recruits watched in amazement as he fought.  Yumichika watched with his arms folded over his chest as Ikkaku appeared beside him, followed shortly by Rukia and Renji.

“What’s happening?  I felt his reiatsu spike,” Rukia said. She didn’t mention the fact that that reiatsu was almost entirely hollow feeling.

“Oh, he was being stupid, and got hurt enough that he needed instant regeneration, so the hollow took over.  Kenpachi’s having a good time, though, but I’m going to have a talk with Ichigo when he’s back to normal.”  Yumichika was going to have more than a talk with him to be honest.  No time like the present to find out his predilections when it came to relationships and if he wanted help. The barely manageable hollow was more of a problem than Ichigo was letting on. 

Finally, Ichigo went rolling past the recruits and stood up, white foam regenerating his wounds as he stood there laughing, holding up a hand as Kenpachi came running toward him.

“Okay, enough, Ichigo’s bein’ a bitch and gettin’ all pissy on me in here.  Maybe next time he’ll think before he lets his dumb ass get hurt, eh, Yumi- _sama_?” he said, and turned his eyes on Yumichika who’s violet eyes widened as he winked one black and gold eye at him.

Ichigo closed his eyes and fell to his knees, using Zangetsu to support himself as the bankai faded.  He shook his head and groaned. “Hollow bastard,” he muttered before he fell face first into the dirt.

Kenpachi reached down and picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder and dropped him at the edge of the field before he took off again with Yachiru yelling to the new recruits to do their best.

Yumichika stood beside him and clapped.  “Back to sparring!”

Ikkaku looked down and back up.  “He called you Yumi-sama,” Ikkaku said quietly.

“I know, no one does that except you,” he returned.  “Obviously the hollow knows something more than he’s telling us.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo woke in his inner world with a groan and found himself looking at his white faced twin and Zangetsu standing on his pole staring at them.

“Yo, Ichigo, that was fun, get sliced open again so I can come back out soon,” the hollow said with a grin.

Ichigo groaned and fell back against the building and stared at the cloudy skies.  Zangetsu was standing by his head a second later.  “You are afraid.”

Ichigo nodded.  “Yeah.”

“You can’t control me, can you king?  You can’t control yourself right now, can you?” the hollow said, sitting beside him slowly for a change.  There was no mocking in his tone.

“I don’t know anymore.  I can’t…what if I lose control again when it matters?” he said.  “I feel like everything is spiraling out of control and I need something and I don’t know what it is and I don’t understand it.”

“Sex,” the hollow said.  “You need sex.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes.  “I do not need sex.  I need…I need to…I don’t know what I need.  I’m holding on tightly to this, to you, to the powers that are surging in here, and it…”

Zangetsu nodded.  “To be in total control, it puts a strain on you.  Find a way to give some away, and you will be better able to balance yourself until you become accustomed to the things you must learn.”

“How do you give away control?” he asked with snort.  “I’ve got to keep this hollow bastard in check, or he’ll take over,” he said.

“In a heartbeat, king,” the hollow said with a giggle. 

“After he took in those souls, those powers, I…I feel like I’ve lost a part of my soul,” Ichigo said with a serious look suddenly. “It’s like a piece of my humanity is just gone, because I want him to take over, and I want him to do that all over again in some corner of my being. I want to feel that way again, that amazing rush of power and it feels like I can do anything…” Ichigo said, wincing.

“King, if you want to get it back, get it back.  But to get, you gotta give,” the hollow said and took off into the distance.

Ichigo lay there for a long moment with Zangetsu standing there.  “I don’t know what to do, old man,” he said finally.

“Ichigo, you must give in order to get,” he echoed the hollow’s words, and the inner world faded away into a hectic dream of blood and bone again.  This time there was fire and it threatened to consume him if he didn’t find a way to put out the flames.

He awoke, once more with a scream, panting and tears streaming down his face, with Yumichika sitting beside him on the practice field.

Yumichika looked up.  “Back to work!” he called, and the sound of clashing swords resumed.  “Ichigo?” he said, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

Ichigo wiped away the wetness from his face frantically.  Crying, really?  “I don’t know what to do,” he said quietly.  “I can’t…I just don’t know.  This power is going to consume me before I figure out how to handle it, Yumichika.  I don’t know…I’m spinning and I don’t know how to stop…”

“Hush, then, we’re almost done, then we’ll go back and we’ll see if we can’t come up with a solution, Ichi, okay?” Yumichika said quietly, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.  “Rest here.”

Yumichika stood up and headed off to talk to the recruits.  Ichigo stared up into the limbs of the tree they were under.  His body ached, and he could tell he’d been asleep a while.  He still felt so very tired, though, and before Yumichika had come back, he’d faded off into a dreamless sleep for a change.  Yumichika came back and smiled down at him.  A moment later, Ikkaku appeared. 

“Take him back.  I’m going to talk to someone before he wakes up,” Yumichika said with a nod and flashed away.

Yumichika found himself at the fourth, hoping that Urahara was still there.  He went in and found the hat wearing former taichou looking over some papers in a spare office.  Yumichika knocked on the wall and he looked up with his gray eyes and smiled.

“Sit, please, is there something you need, Yumichika?” he asked, putting down his files.

Yumichika sat down across from him.  “Yes, it is about Ichigo.  He seems to be having frequent nightmares when he falls asleep.  And then the incident today.”

Urahara nodded.  “Yes, Kenpachi relayed the information.  It may happen again.  The hollow did unknown amounts of changes to him, and if Ichigo doesn’t exert full control over him, he’s going to assume control of their shared body.  From what Ichigo said, they have an agreement, and he’s told him in no uncertain terms, if Ichigo weakens, he will take their body for his own.  After consuming who knows how many arrancar of espada level, and then Aizen and possibly Tōsen from what we understand…I don’t know if he can handle it.  He’s too inexperienced at his power as it is, and now it has…multiplied by many times.  We aren’t even sure how powerful he’s gotten.”

Yumichika nodded.  “What is going to happen to him?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Urahara said, taking off his hat and scratching his blond hair thoughtfully.  “I’m just fear that he’s going to break from it.  The sheer responsibility of controlling that creature inside him, especially after it consumed as many souls as it did in Hueco Mundo…”

“You believe he’s going to give up and we’ll end up having to destroy him,” Yumichika said.

Urahara nodded.  “I’ve talked about it with Mayuri, Unohana, and Ichigo’s father, and we can’t see any other course.  He’s going to lose it eventually.  All the captains have been alerted to the fact that it may only be a matter of time. I wish…I wish there was any other way.”

Yumichika’s heart clenched tightly in his chest.  “But what if we could help him instead of just letting him self destruct?”

“What do you mean?  We can’t find any way _to_ help him,” Urahara said with a deep sigh, leaning back in his seat.  “We’ve tried.  Ichigo has There’s no kido that can bind the power until he’s ready, there’s no way to channel it…we’ve looked from all the angles we can think of…”

Yumichika wasn’t sure but it was his only thought.  “What if he gave up control in some other part of his life?  Take stress off him in one part so he can focus on learning to control the hollow and the new powers.”

Urahara started to say something then stopped and thought.  “I mean, it might work.  It does for some others in similar situations, sometimes being powerful can be so…oh…oh…”  Urahara stared at Yumichika for a long moment and nodded, eyes narrowing a bit as he thought. He’d been away from Soul Society for so long he’d forgotten about Yumichika’s…leisure activities. “I think I see what you mean.”

“And?” he asked.  “I don’t know if I should even ask, because have no idea what he likes as far as that is concerned…”

Urahara shook his head.  “I’m afraid no one really knows that information, Yumichika.  Not even his friends and family have that answer.”

“You’ve asked?” Yumichika said, blinking.

Urahara smiled, “Not directly.  But I’ve been privy to discussions in my shoten about Ichigo while he was asleep.  Orihime and Tatsuki would discuss the fact that no matter what Orihime did, and no matter how large her crush on him was, Ichigo never responded to her.  I know that he had relationships with many, but never connected more than on a friendship level with anyone.  And now he has hollow instincts as well as human ones.  One level of frustration may come from the animalistic nature of the hollow driving him, along with his sudden maturity.  He’s not had time to come to terms with himself, let alone actually experience much of life as a young person.”

Yumichika nodded.  “I see.  Thank you, perhaps I will update you soon about our…experiment.”

Urahara nodded and watched as Yumichika left.  He looked up a few moments later to see Isshin standing in the doorway. 

“What was that about?”

“Yumichika asking about Ichigo.  I told him what we’d discovered.  He had an…unorthodox…idea,” Urahara said with a sigh.  “I suppose it won’t hurt to try, at this point he’s already lost control once after less than a month…”

“Unorthodox?” Isshin said, quirking a brow.

“You know about Ikkaku and Yumichika, yes?” he said, looking over with a smirk.

Isshin nodded.  “They room together, and before that even they were a couple. I think they’ve been partners longer than any of the others in the seated offices.”

“But do you know about their…interests?” he said, his smirk widening to a grin.

Isshin’s brows knitted.  “I don’t follow.”

Urahara smiled.  “Ah, yes, let’s say Ikkaku has been here in the fourth more than once due to Yumichika’s tendency to sometimes get a little…overzealous…when Ikkaku is being particularly pushy with him. He of course does it on purpose to elicit such things from Yumichika.”

“Overzealous?” Isshin asked, the pieces not seeming to fit together.

“Yes, with a flog of some sort, I believe,” Urahara supplied for the other man.

Isshin blinked.  “Oh…oh.  Oh!”  he said, turning to look at him wide eyed.  “You mean…they like that sort of thing?  Like they do it because they both want to?”

Urahara nodded. “I guess Ikkaku was particularly proud of his pain tolerance when he came in to have it treated the next day. They’ve been that way ever since they’ve been together, I guess.  Ikkaku adores Yumichika and Yumichika adores him, but behind the closed doors, Yumichika is the one who runs the show, if you get my meaning.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with Ichigo, though,” Isshin said, coming and sitting down.

Urahara sighed and sort of didn’t want to tell Isshin this part.  “He thinks that if Ichigo is interested, taking some of the responsibility off him might help.”

“Oh…” Isshin said.  His immediate reaction was to say that he didn’t want his son doing those sorts of things. Then he thought about the fact that his son was going to die if something wasn’t done. “Will it?”

Urahara shook his head.  “Worth a try, isn’t it?  Or you’re going to end up pitting Engetsu against Zangetsu and taking your own son’s life before this whole thing is over.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo woke slowly and he was surprised.  Since he woke in the fourth, he’d woken with screaming nightmares of blood and bone and worse. He was comfortable, warm, and relaxed for the first time in a long time.  It was a strange sensation, though.  He wasn’t sure why he felt this way, but he wasn’t going to complain.  He went to yawn and realized he couldn’t open his mouth.  This surprised him a bit, and then he realized his mouth was open, and he couldn’t close it because something was in it. His eyes opened and he moved to reach for his mouth and found he couldn’t move his arms either.  A slight panic began to set in because it was quite possible his body was rebelling again and not moving when he told it to do so.  No, he thought.  He could feel his muscles contracting and something soft around his wrists above his head. The room was dark, though, and he couldn’t see a thing to tell what was going on. 

Then, the world exploded in white light and he grimaced he tried to turn his face away and squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered at the pain flaring behind his eyelids.  He felt someone near him, and his hands came free and whatever was in his mouth was removed.  There was another set of clicks and whatever had held his ankles let go as well.  When his vision cleared he found himself staring up into Yumichika’s expressionless face. 

“Yumichika?” Ichigo asked.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked.

Ichigo swallowed and rubbed the corners of his mouth which were a little sore.  “Um,” he started then realized that he’d slept incredibly well.  Better than since he’d woken up in the fourth.  “Better than I have in a long time, what’s going on?” he said, looking around and realizing he was in his room.

Yumichika smiled and glanced behind him.  “Seems we were right, Ikkaku.”

Ichigo spotted Ikkaku as he came into the room and stoodd at the foot of the bed.  “I don’t understand,” Ichigo said, shaking his head.

“I had Ikkaku bring you back here after you fell asleep at the field yesterday evening.  I wanted to try something, so I bound your hands and feet.  Nothing your hollow, or even you if you tried hard enough, couldn’t get out of, but enough to be felt.  I gagged you as well, so if you woke in the night, you wouldn’t scream out.  I had a bell tied to the foot, though, so if you moved, it would ring in our room so I’d know you’d woken up,” Yumichika said with a nod.  “It seems that you slept peacefully for a change.”

Ichigo frowned and pushed himself to a sitting position.  “I don’t understand why.”

Yumichika smiled softly. “I have a theory.  And I talked to Urahara.  It seems that they fear the same thing you fear, and are waiting for you simply to give up control to your hollow.  I don’t want to see that happen.”

“I don’t understand,” Ichigo said.

“You need to feel safe, but more than that, you need to feel like others are safe from you.  And I’m offering something that may work, if you wish.  I’m offering to take control of parts of your world, and let you focus on what you must learn to handle that power within you,” Yumichika said with a nod.

Ichigo wasn’t sure he understood.  But there was a driving force inside him that wanted him to do exactly what Yumichika said, no matter what he said. He was tired of feeling like he was coming apart just trying to handle everything going on inside and outside of his head. In his head, there was a mad giggle, and Ichigo frowned. 

“The hollow knows, doesn’t he?” he asked.

Yumichika nodded.  “He does.  Somehow, he does.”

Ichigo nodded.  “I’ve…I don’t know.  What does it…how do I…I don’t understand.”

Yumichika sighed.  “May I hug you, Ichigo?” he asked softly.

The orange haired shinigami’s eyes widened. He started to say something but nodded instead.  Yumichika moved forward and tugged his body toward him, holding him tightly against his chest.  He tucked Ichigo’s head into the hollow of his neck and felt as Ichigo’s body began to relax under the touch.  He began to rub his back in the embrace, and heard the younger shinigami sigh.  Yumichika smiled, feeling no resistance, no stiffness or awkwardness at the embrace.  He then took it a step further and gently placed a chaste kiss against his neck.  Ichigo’s flesh goose bumped immediately and he shivered, but didn’t pull away.

“Is that something you like?” Yumichika asked softly. Ichigo’s only response was to grip Yumichika’s body tighter. “You need this, contact between you and another person, Ichigo. Contact that you don’t have to fear. I know this is hard to admit, but you’re lost, I can see it in your eyes, and I want to help, if I can…do you want to try?”

Ichigo swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting his voice. He was floating and quite sure he’d end up drowning if he didn’t do something soon.  He knew it was starting to rain in his inner world, and if he didn’t do something, it would fill with water again.  He needed clarity, and he needed to give something to someone else because he knew deep down that he simply couldn’t handle everything that was on his shoulders at the moment.  He didn’t notice when the bed dipped behind him, and another pair of hands were moving over his back as he relaxed into the sensations of just _being_.  Was there a way he could let go?  He wasn’t sure he was ever in control to start with.  His whole life, he’d been tugged here or there by events and circumstance, and he was tired of it.  He was tired of trying to control the uncontrollable.  Maybe someone else could help him with it.  Maybe.


	4. Total Power Exchange

Yumichika and Ikkaku said they’d speak on the issue that evening. Ichigo managed to get through breakfast with more ease than he had before, but he kept avoiding talking about what happened the day before. Yumichika gave him space to think. He knew that this was not going to be easy. Choosing to take on this life that he and Ikkaku led was a commitment. It wasn’t to be taken lightly. Finally, they headed back out to the training field. Yumichika wanted to see how Ichigo did today. He needed a good gauge on where he was emotionally and also physically. This time, though, Ikkaku was coming and would help Ichigo instead of doing other things for the taichou.  After the day before, they needed someone as experienced as Ikkaku to make sure Ichigo didn’t get overtired or hurt enough to lose control again.  Until Yumichika had a chance to assume control of him, he needed to be watched carefully. Before they could even come close to that point, they had a lot of information to go over with the shinigami substitute.

Halfway through the day, when they broke for lunch, Yumichika could tell he was already losing control. They sat under the tree while the recruits ate and he looked at him.

“You’re reiatsu is spiking, Ichigo,” Yumichika said finally.

“I know, it just…I can’t stop it. I’ve always sucked at controlling my own reiatsu, it just leaks out everywhere, and I just don’t know what to do about it,” he answered, glancing over where some of the recruits were sparring.

“Can you make it until this afternoon or do you want to return to the rooms?” Yumichika asked carefully.

“I’m fine,” Ichigo said, but Yumichika could tell he wasn’t. His focus was faltering even as he cross blades with Ikkaku.

 Yumichika bit his lip and looked at Ikkaku as he obviously compensated for Ichigo’s blatant openings. Yumichika could tell that it was nothing to do with actual exhaustion, though. He had a feeling that the hollow was attempting to wrest control away from Ichigo again by forcing him into an injury.  He was going downhill quickly, and if they didn’t intervene soon, he really was going to let the hollow have control out of sheer exhaustion of will.  Ichigo needed focus, and soon.

After the break, Yumichika clapped loudly and looked over the recruits.  “Everyone, please listen.  I’m going to be occupied the next few days.  Your instructions are simple.  Be here every day, continue sparring and working on your techniques.  The fuku-taichou or Ikkaku will come and check on you periodically, so no slacking off!” he called.

He then walked over to where Ichigo and Ikkaku were watching him.  He looked between them.  “Up, both of you.  We’ve got some things to deal with that are more important than these recruits, anyone can train them,” he said, turning and walking away.  Ikkaku helped Ichigo up and they headed back to their quarters. 

“Couch,” Yumichika said, gesturing to the sofa and both Ikkaku and Ichigo sat down as instructed.  Yumichika disappeared into the bedroom.

Ichigo frowned and looked at Ikkaku.  “Is this about what we were talking about this morning?” he said quietly.

Ikkaku nodded.  “I’m certain,” he responded as Yumichika came back, dressed now in a dark blue yukata and holding several pieces of paper which he placed on the table before them.  Ichigo glanced at it and back at Yumichika who sat down in the large chair to the side of them.

“Do you understand what we’re talking about, Ichigo?” Yumichika said, looking him over.

Ichigo swallowed.  “Um, I don’t, not really.  I’m confused.  Really confused by all this.  I feel different and last night I slept without the nightmares and I don’t know why.”

Yumichika nodded, crossing his legs and steepling his fingers under his chin.  “Okay, I know this is something that is in the world of the living as well as here, but the names and ways we do things may be different.  When you were bound last night, you subconsciously allowed yourself to relax.  You were held, both safe and keeping others safe.  Even though the bindings were not strong, more for sensation than for actual binding, you relaxed because you were unable to act on the hollow impulses of destruction.”

Ichigo nodded.  He guessed that made sense.  “Yeah…” he said.

“Now, Ikkaku and I have a unique relationship.  I control the relationship.  I believe the word commonly used is the dominate one.  Ikkaku is submissive to me,” he said.  “However, Ikkaku is sexually the top in our relationship,” he said thoughtfully.

Ichigo shook his head.  “I don’t understand.  Isn’t that the same as being dominate?”

Yumichika smiled.  “Not at all.  Top in this case refers to the fact I enjoy being the receiver, and he enjoys being the giver.  However, I control what he does.  Much in the same way if I were female instead of male.”

Ichigo nodded.  “Okay, I got that part…but I don’t…what do you want to do that is going to help me?”

Yumichika smiled. “I want you to become mine, and that’s never happened. I’ve always enjoyed my relationship with Ikkaku and was quite satisfied to remain as such.  But you need someone to take control, and I have to admit, I desire to be the one to do that,” he said, smiling softly.

“What do you mean by take control?” Ichigo asked, leaning into Ikkaku as his energy began to flag again.  Ikkaku’s body felt warm and comforting against him and he almost felt himself giving into the fatigue.

“It depends on how much control you want to give up, Ichigo.  Ikkaku and I carry on our relationship in the bedroom, or in our quarters, but nowhere else.  That is what we desire, how much control he wishes to let me have.  My control over you can be like that, or it can go further, it depends on your desire,” he said with a nod.

Ichigo thought about it for a long moment.  “You mean, like out there, in Soul Society?”

Yumichika nodded.  “If you wish.  It would mean giving up almost completely and nearly becoming a different person.  And accepting that others would see what we are.  But you would simply allow me to take care of you and focus on the internal battle for control you are fighting.  That is the advantage.  I only bring this up because while bedroom play is fun, I’m not certain that it would be enough to help you.  And to be honest, I am not certain if you are interested in the sexual aspect of what I’m proposing.  Sex is a byproduct of this, and certainly carries its own rewards, but it is by no means a requirement. This sort of relationship can be done with no sexual aspects whatsoever.”

Ikkaku ran a hand over Ichigo’s back and found to his amusement the younger man arched into the touch and practically purred at the attention.  “But if you want this, it means there is no more no between you and Yumichika.  You’ll be agreeing that whatever he decides is what you will do.  There are no safe words, no taking back your submission.”

Yumichika shook his head solemnly.  “No, that is too far, Ikkaku, no I won’t go that far.  My Master and I had a relationship similar to what I’m proposing for several years, but like I am about to do, he offered a safety net for my use if something changed.  If you want to do this, live like this, because this is a life, not simply a bedroom romp or being tied down so you can sleep, I insist on some controls, not for you, but for me.  I will take complete control, but if at any time you wish to rescind that, Ikkaku is your safe person.  Anytime, no matter what is happening, you may request to talk to Ikkaku alone, and I will leave the room immediately and allow it.  Then, Ikkaku may come to me, or you may simply discuss what is on your mind with him.  There will be no penalty and no punishment for such actions.  Because Ikkaku and I have a different dynamic, outside these walls we are separate and neither of us controls the other, he would become the one person you are completely free to speak to about anything.  Your bedroom would become your safe room.  In there, you are free to do as you like, and if Ikkaku and I enter, the roles are removed and we are just as we are now.  And no matter what is happening, I cannot stop you from leaving and going into your room.”

Ichigo nodded slowly.  His mind was reeling from what they were saying.  The idea of giving up all the control of his life to someone else was so damn attractive.  He wouldn’t have to deal with anything anymore, anything except the hollow and the powers that were trying to break through him into the world around him. It would help him quell the insatiable hunger that was gnawing at his very soul. Even the problems inherent in the idea were solved by having Ikkaku there as an outlet, so if he were scared or worried he could ask him and not interrupt the relationship dynamic he would build with Yumichika.  That, he could tell, was essential, because it was that dynamic that would keep the hollow at bay.

“Okay,” he said softly. “I want that.  I don’t even want to think for myself anymore, I just want to stop.  If I don’t…I might just explode, Yumichika.”

Yumichika nodded slowly; he was honestly surprised he didn’t want to think more on the issue.  “Okay, first, go through the list on the table.  Those are things that you are willing and not willing to do or have done.  Before this begins, I want to know what you want and don’t want because once we are in this, you won’t be able to tell me.  That’s a part of it.  Think long and hard about what is written there, and be honest.  There is an outline of my expectations, and there is also an outline of what I am expected to provide for you.  Again, the sexual aspect is not necessary, so there are separate sets of lists for sexually related acts. There is another lists of items, things that you would be willing or unwilling to have used on you.  If you have any questions about anything, talk to Ikkaku.  He is well aware of everything on those lists, I have copies he filled out long ago.  I have to go talk to the sou-taichou and let him know what we’re attempting.”

Yumichika got up and changed back to his shihakuso.  He honestly hadn’t expected him to agree to it.  At least, not at first, so he had thought it would be the next day before he went to the head captain.  Instead, the yearning was killing the young man, he could see the struggle on his face.  He needed release in more than one way.  Before long he was let into the head captain’s office and he bowed to the old man.

“Sou-taichou, I wished to inform you of my attempt to help Kurosaki control the hollow and the powers he has gained,” he said with a nod.

“And what method is that?” he asked, not looking up from his paperwork.  “I was informed that there was no known way to aid the shinigami substitute.”

“A Total Power Exchange between us,” he said.

The head captain looked up.  “Really?  Will it work?”

Yumichika shook his head.  “We do not know, but I’ve spoken with Urahara-san, and he agrees that something must be done or he will lose control of the hollow, and be destroyed by Soul Society.”

The head captain was quiet.  He, of course, knew about Yumichika and Ikkaku, and they were not the only ones in Soul Society to have this type of relationship.  However, a Total Power Exchange was nearly unheard of, at least in the last few hundred years.  The situations had existed before, long before Yumichika and Ikkaku were even thought of in their world.  The head captain had seen this before, and sometimes it had helped, and sometimes it had been catastrophic.  There had always been those in their world that had been handed more power and responsibility than they could possibly handle.  Doing this, giving up to someone else some of that control, was a way to focus.

“So you will make him your slave so that he can control his hollow,” he muttered.  Truth be told, that was the part he was not inclined to like.

“No, sir, I will not have him as a slave, that is not my way,” he said gently, knowing the disdain that most people carried of the term when applied to the type of relationship.  He had never considered Ikkaku his slave, not even for one moment.  “I do not treat Ikkaku that way, and will not treat Ichigo like one.  He will be precious to me, and I will treat him as such.  I have already posited a solution to the problems inherent with the relationship, and that is to give Ichigo a safe room as well as making Ikkaku his safe person so he can communicate through him if something needs to change.”

“And what of the public perception?” the head captain asked, now watching him.

“It will be as it is.  I cannot change that.  He will be collared and I will assume public control of him.  It will be up to those around him as to how they react.  He will not be kept from his friends, or his training, but he will abide by the rules I set at all times, even when alone or with others,” he said with a nod.  “Otherwise, this will not work, and he won’t ever learn control of the immense power he holds.  If he has someone that is restricting him from the outside, he may learn to control it from the inside,” Yumichika said with a more insistent nod.  He was hoping that it would work.

The head captain looked thoughtful.  “This is more about the control aspect than anything, I hope.  He will not be forced into things he doesn’t want to be forced into.”

There was no question to the head captain’s words.  Yumichika knew that it would be this way.  “He is deciding those things as we speak, informing me of his limits and desires before it has begun.  I will offer him a consideration period, two weeks, for him to decide if he wishes to make it permanent. In reality, this period would be much longer, however, we simply do not have the time to waste. We will meet after two weeks and assess his progress and decide if we wish to continue.”

The head captain leaned back and looked thoughtful for a moment, then his Yumichika saw his eyes open wide enough for the younger shinigami to see the color.  “I will monitor this progress as well.  And if there is any indication of improper behavior, I will put a stop to it.”

Yumichika nodded.  “I understand, sir.  I will not lie, sir, I desire him. But that is not something I would have acted upon if I was not in this position to help him.  I assure you, I will never let harm come to him while he is in my care.”

“See that _that_ is the case,” the head captain said and turned back to the papers on his desk.

Yumichika bowed and left the office and flashed back to their quarters. 

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

 “What is this?” Ichigo asked, pointing out a list labeled “General Protocols”.

“Those are the hard rules that Yumichika sets, meaning the things you don’t break.  Ever,” he said with a smirk.   “Unless of course you want the punishment.”

Ichigo nodded and looked over a list of punishments.  He arched a brow at some of the things.  “What’s ‘figging’?”

Ikkaku snickered. “Um, yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know about that.  That’s where you take a ginger root and use it like a butt plug.”

Ichigo frowned.  “Wouldn’t that…you know…burn?”

Ikkaku nodded.  “Yes. For a bit, and doesn’t hurt for very long but it can be quite…stimulating.  Not something we’ve ever done.  I don’t mind sucking cock, but there is nothing going into my ass.”

Ichigo nodded.  “Is it…nice?”

Ikkaku frowned.  “What?”

“The sex stuff.  I mean, there’s a lot of it listed here…” he said, thumbing through the lists.  “There’s stuff I’ve never heard of.”

“Yeah, well, shinigami have long lives to figure out ways to entertain each other,” Ikkaku said with a snort.  “But yes, it is quite nice.”

Ichigo’s mind worked. He was reminded of the hollow, always chiding him and teasing him for his inexperience and telling him he needed to just go get fucked already.  Ichigo always chastised him for his vulgarity, and told him he simply didn’t have time for that.  That was true, honestly.  Granted, he _had_ been a normal teenager, and done some self-exploration in the shower a few times aside from the normal masturbation.  He found when he touched himself down _there_ it excited him and he got off a lot faster.  More than once he’d gone to websites and looked at things like toys and he’d watched a few porn videos in his time. Nothing seriously twisted though, but looking down the list he realized how much more there was to the world of sex than someone putting a cock in an empty hole.

He blinked and frowned at the papers.  He hadn’t marked anything out.  Nothing.  He looked over it again and realized that most of the things, he wanted to try, just to see what they were like.  He blinked, rethinking that.  Was he a closet pervert?  He shook his head.

“What’s the matter?” Ikkaku said, returning from the kitchen with a glass of juice for him. 

“Oh, just, if I, you know, want to try this stuff, does that make me…like…weird or…a pervert or something?” he asked, glancing up at him.

Ikkaku sighed heavily.  “No, it wouldn’t be on there if someone didn’t enjoy it.  You do things that feel good, even if they include having your girly ass boyfriend beat you with a whip until you bleed.  Which I do enjoy now and then…”

Ichigo smiled and looked back down.  So he wasn’t weird.  Even that figging things sounded interesting…  He grimaced and marked off anything to do with vomit, feces, or mucus.  That was just nasty, he thought.  Binding.  He glanced over it and didn’t see anything that put him off and went on.  Toys and objects.  He looked down the list and stopped.  “Ikkaku, what’s a sounding rod?”

Ikkaku grinned.  “Man I should let you find out on your own but I won’t, I promised I’d answer anything.  This tiny metal rod that you stick in your urethra while you’re hard.  Feels fuckin’ amazing…”

Ichigo nodded and went on.  He didn’t see anything he wasn’t willing to do.  He went on and there was a page dedicated to what he wanted protocol to look like.  He looked down the list, checking off nearly everything.  He was willing to give up control of food, sleep, bathroom use, hygiene, physical exercise.  There was another section listing what particular protocols he wanted to have enforced about daily life, including if he was willing to have vocal training used.  He said yes, and moved one.  Another section asked if he wanted his Dom to explain scenes beforehand or go into them blind.  He sat back and thought of that.  He’d rather go blind, he thought, heightening the sensations and the experience, he thought.  Playing with other Dom/mes and subs was the next one.  Again, he checked it off, along with the next question about having sex with others besides his Dom.  He didn’t care; he’d do whatever he was told as long as he didn’t have to make the choices from now on.  His head was already aching from all the things on the paperwork.  He turned to the next one and sighed. 

“There are entirely too many ways to have sex,” he said out loud, getting a laugh from Ikkaku.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

When Yumichika entered, Ikkaku was in the kitchen preparing something to eat and Ichigo was still looking at the papers he had been left with.  He looked to be almost through them.  Yumichika headed to their room and changed into his yukata again, and went to the closet where he stored a box.  Inside were various items, some things from Soul Society, others that he’d collected from the World of the Living.  He rummaged around the various items until he came across the thin, white collar he was looking for.  Ikkaku had worn it a few times when they’d begun their relationship, but otherwise, it had remained untouched.  It had been the very first item Yumichika had ever bought, and it would suit the consideration period once again as it had when Ikkaku had donned it.

When he came out he saw that Ichigo had sat up, apparently done.  He had a deep red blush staining his pale cheeks and Yumichika smiled to himself.  He moved up behind him and snapped the white collar into place.  Ichigo started and reached up to touch it with a frown.

“For consideration, you will wear this for two weeks, and in that time, you will not break from our roles, do you understand?”  Ichigo looked up and nodded to Yumichika.  “At the end of two weeks, I will take this off, and when I do, we will discuss if it is working and if you wish to continue.  The rules of this first two weeks are simple, you do what I tell you, and if you do not, you will be punished. You do what you are told, and you will be rewarded.  You are mine from this point forward, mind, body and soul, and there is no denying me whatever I ask of you. Is this what you wish to happen?  If you have any doubts, now is the time to convey them.  Once you’ve agreed, you lose your ability to change the situation unless you relate it to me through Ikkaku.  I will not hurt you, and everything I will do is for your own protection and to help you. Some may be simply to test you, and some things will be for other reasons.  But you understand, by agreeing to this, you no longer have a will of your own?”

Ichigo swallowed and nodded again, eyes wide, and a blush still staining his cheeks.  His heart rate had sped up and he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he knew he had to do something.

“Say it out loud, Ichigo, tell me that you willingly agree to this,” Yumichika said with a curt nod.

“I agree to this, to giving complete power over me and everything in my life,” he said, eyes centered on Yumichika’s violet ones.

Yumichika nodded and took the papers from him to read them carefully.  He was surprised.  He had expected Ichigo to attempt to retain some form of control by eliminating some of the things on the lists of activities. He had barely marked anything as off limits for them.  Yumichika looked up at Ichigo’s wide brown eyes.

“You are sure?  Because this is what I will base our activities and your rewards and punishments on.  You are completely able to make this non-sexual if you wish.  To control you, I do not have to have you in that manner,” he reiterated, making sure Ichigo understood. “I won’t force you into a sexual relationship with either myself or Ikkaku if you don’t desire it.”

Ichigo swallowed, ducking his head.  “But…I think I do…” he said quietly.

Yumichika felt a slight trepidation.  “Ichigo, have you ever done anything like this?  Have you ever had sex with anyone?”

Ichigo shook his head and Yumichika grimaced.  “Are you certain this is what you want?  You realize that I’ll take your first time through this.”  Yumichika could almost not hide the lust that was beginning to throb through his being at the thought that not only was Ichigo desirable, he was also a virgin, ready to be molded and shaped into whatever Yumichika wanted him to be.

“I put down everything there.  I am agreeing completely,” Ichigo said with a nod of his head.  “I know what I want, and what I need, and I am sure this is what I need and want because I don’t know what I need, and I need someone to tell me, if that makes sense.  And I seem to have been…um, affected by the listings...”

Yumichika glanced at Ikkaku who was still pouring water off the noodles.  “Very well, as long as you understand what you’re telling us you are willing to do, and by what you put here, you haven’t indicated you want to limit very much at all.  You are giving me free reign to do things like have Ikkaku have sex with you under my instruction, allowing me to require you to wear things under your clothes, and public displays of your obedience if I desire it.”

Ichigo nodded sharply.  “I understand,” he said, his gaze going to his hands which were twisting nervously.  “I’m trusting you completely.”

Yumichika nodded and stood up, taking his papers and filing them away in the drawer with Ikkaku’s similar papers.  He went back to see Ichigo waiting still on the couch.  “Let’s eat dinner first, and then we will begin.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Yo, king,” came a familiar voice as Ichigo’s eyes fluttered open in the inner world.

He was floating because the place was filled with water.  Zangetsu stood on his flagpole, the ball of which was the only thing remaining out of the water.  He was staring at him as he floated in place by his feet.  He saw Shiro, what else was he supposed to call the white bastard, and frowned deeply at him as he stood in the air over him.

“What do you want?” he said morosely.

“You gotta handle this, King, really.  They’re gonna kill us if ya don’t,” Shiro said watching him.  “I don’t want to take over because they’ll kill my hollow ass in a heartbeat, but ya ain’t doin’ too good. I feel the hunger too, you know. That’s why I want out so bad.”

Ichigo closed his eyes.  “It is just too much.  So I’m going to do what I have to do to save us,” he said finally opening them.

“You’re letting him have us?” Shiro said, dropping down into the water beside him.  Oddly, he didn’t look too concerned.

“Me, you’re in here,” Ichigo said with a sigh.

“Are you sure?  What he wants, I’ve been listening, you won’t even be able to do the slightest thing you want on your own, and if he wants to beat ya near to death, ya can’t stop him,” Shiro said warily.

“But you would.  I’m not afraid, at least, not of Yumichika and Ikkaku.  I’m more afraid of what will happen if I can’t maintain control.  And I know I can’t.  You consumed so much power in Las Noches…and I’m just not that strong,” he said, blinking slowly as he sighed.

“But you will be,” Zangetsu said, finally speaking.  “It will work, Ichigo, what they have in mind.  At least, it will work if you let it.  Give up to him.  You know Shiro will protect you should anything turn bad, and I do not believe you have to fear Yumichika as a master.  He is kind hearted, and he is choosing to do this for the right reasons.  Until you learn control, you must be controlled.  You understand this already, Ichigo.  And I have not released your full potential yet, so if the time comes that something breaks my control of your shinigami powers and the Quincy powers…there will be more problems.”

Ichigo nodded and blinked, sitting up with a start and realizing he was sitting on the sofa again.  Both Ikkaku and Yumichika were looking at him.  “Sorry, Zangetsu wanted to talk to me, and the hollow.”

Yumichika nodded.  “Obviously, the Zanpakutō spirit is something I can’t expect you to completely ignore.  And if the hollow finds it necessary to speak to you, I won’t keep you from it.  It is important you tell me what is happening, though.”

Dinner had gone simply enough and then it seemed the moment he sat on the couch he’d been sucked into the inner world.  He bit his lip.

“It’s drowning,” he said thoughtfully.  “My inner world,” he said, looking at his two…friends?  Companions?  He wasn’t sure what they would be called.

“Tell me,” Yumichika said, smiling softly at him. 

Ichigo swallowed.  “When I’m sad, or when I’m upset, it rains.  And at the worst, it floods.  And I’ve never seen it so bad.  The skies are black and Zangetsu is soaked to the bone.  Shiro, the hollow, he’s concerned that we’ll both end up destroyed if I can’t control the powers.  And…Zangetsu said he’s holding back my shinigami power already, and my Quincy power…”

Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged glances.  “Wait, you’re telling me, you have Quincy powers? Since when are you a quince? I didn’t think that was possible. And your Zanpakutō spirit is holding them back?”

Ichigo nodded.  “He said I’m not ready, a while back, he explained that I couldn’t handle the full release of my power. That’s why each time I fought here in Soul Society I got stronger, because he was steadily releasing more and more of my power.  But he told me that to learn control I had to be controlled.”

Yumichika nodded and glanced at Ikkaku. “That’s the idea,” he said. “Now, you have your collar.  Do not remove it, even for a moment, unless I tell you to do so.  When asked why you’re wearing it, what do you think you’ll say?”

Ichigo shook his head. “I don’t know?”

“You will say it is my collar. And what will you call me?” Yumichika leaned toward him, maintaining eye contact with him and not allowing him to break away.

Ichigo shook his head, eyes wide. Yumichika nodded. “Yumi-sama, just as Ikkaku does. And you will call Ikkaku Ikkaku-sama.  Master may also be used, if you desire. Despite the fact I am his master as well, he is also your master.  Do you understand that?”  Again, Ichigo nodded.

“The first two weeks, they are to introduce you to the life you are agreeing to.  We won’t be in public often, but we will go, and you will be in front of other shinigami and your friends.  You still answer to me, and if you are disobedient in public, you will be publicly disciplined, but in this period, nothing too serious, you aren’t ready for that yet.  For that reason, you will not disobey no matter what I say, is that clear?” Yumichika’s gaze had Ichigo locked into it and Ichigo found he couldn’t look away no matter how he wanted.  Instead he nodded, holding his eyes still.

Yumichika sighed and looked him over.  “This is your last chance to back out of this, Ichigo.  Are you sure that this is what you want?”

Ichigo swallowed and closed his eyes.  “Look, I just can’t do it anymore.  I was nine when my mother died in front of me, and I was convinced I killed her when it was a hollow, and then I thought it was after me, and it was, but also her, because she was a Quincy.  My high spiritual pressure drew it, though, and later one, drew more.  And then I become a shinigami to save my family, then I get drawn into this whole conflict between soul society and Aizen.  I had to save my family, I had to save Inoue, and I’m just…tired.  I want to give up, to just stop trying so hard…I don’t know if this will help, but I want to try, I’ll try anything because if the hollow takes over, he’ll kill and I don’t want anyone I love to die.”

Yumichika nodded.  “And you are okay with the sex aspects?  I’ll remind you there doesn’t have to be sexual relations involved.”

“I…want you to do whatever you want with me.  I need…I don’t know what I need, and I need you to tell me,” he said finally, drawing a shuttering breath.  “And…I want to do those things.  I have always lived up here, and never given into my body and the demands of it, and spent more time training and less time just enjoying sensations.”

Yumichika nodded and stood, taking his hand and nodding to Ikkaku who got up as well.  “Then we begin, my sweet pet,” Yumichika said with a soft smile.  “The last thing I’ll tell you is that if at any time, you feel the need to stop, if you are in pain or something is wrong, you will have to indicate it to me. If you cannot speak, tap twice with your fingers against me or Ikkaku. If you can speak, use the word red. If you are unable to do either, I will provide something with which you can let me know of a problem. Now, come.”

Ichigo was nervous, but he stood and allowed himself to be led by the hand into the bedroom that Ikkaku and Yumichika shared, and now he supposed, that he would share with them since the other room was designated to be his safe room.  It was also where Zangetsu was kept along with his shihakuso after tonight.

Ichigo hadn’t been in this room before so he wasn’t sure what to expect.  He didn’t expect it to be so…normal.  In the center of the room was a large bed, equivalent to a king sized in the human world he thought, with lots of pillows across the top where the headboard was slatted wood.  The bedding was plain black, and there was nothing directly around the bed, almost like there was a pathway around it.  There were cabinets along the wall that were closed, however, and Ichigo had a feeling that what was contained in them was something he was going to learn in short order.  Ikkaku shut the door and took his kusodo off and hung it on a hook behind the door.

Yumichika turned and face Ichigo.  “Strip,” he commanded, standing back and watching.

Ichigo swallowed, his face flushing immediately and he hesitated, perhaps a bit too long because he felt a stinging slap to his face and flinched as Yumichika was standing in front of him. 

“I said to strip,” Yumichika’s voice was low.  “You must answer when I tell you to do something, pet.  And you do what you are told immediately.”

“Y-yes…Yumi-sama,” he said, blinking owlishly at the petite man. Ichigo swallowed convulsively for a second and then untied his kusodo and took it off.  Ikkaku took it from him and then he untied the obi and pulled it away, again having it taken by Ikkaku.  His hakama dropped don his slender legs then, leaving him exposed.  He dropped his hands down to cover himself but flinched as Yumichika slapped his hands away.

“Do not cover yourself in my presence, pet.  You will never do so.  No one else may see you like this without my permission, understood?  Not even if you are injured, you will come to me first.  If you do not, you’ll be punished afterward.”  Yumichika waited a moment then walked around him, noting the slight tremor.  He reached into a box near the door and came around in front of him and snapped two leather cuffs to his wrists, then two similar ones to his ankles.  Ichigo recognized them as the ones they’d used to restrain him before.  They were soft and quite comfortable, actually.  All four were imbedded with rings and he could tell they were strong.  Once he was done he came around in front of him and looked at him with the cuffs and smiled briefly.

“Now, we have a matter to deal with.  You lost control recently.  That is not permitted.  You will be disciplined for that, and every time you let yourself lose control.  If you do well, and are a good pet for your punishment, I’ll reward you.  Now, on the bed, on your stomach, and don’t move.”

Ichigo swallowed and then stammered, “Yes, Yumi-sama.”

He scrambled onto the bed uncoordinated and unsure and Yumichika knew he was going to have a long road training him but tonight he would go easy on him.  It was the first time, and first scene, after all.  He turned to Ikkaku. 

“Bring me the black paddle,” he instructed. 

It was a very soft paddle and would serve as a good initial punishment.  He hadn’t used that particular one in a very long time.  Ikkaku preferred the hardwood one with the holes drilled through it when he had a paddle used on him.  Ikkaku bowed his head slightly and went to the far right cabinet. 

Ichigo’s heart was racing by this point.  He was lying on the bed on his stomach and trying very hard to be still but finding it difficult to not look at what was happening.  He heard movement and clothes and then he felt the side of the bed dip.  He held the urge to look.

“Up,” Yumichika said and Ichigo looked up and saw that he’d put on a white yukata and was sitting at the edge of the bed.  Ikkaku was standing beside him holding his arms behind him.  Ichigo wasn’t sure what he meant by “up”.  He started to say something as he got to his knees on the bed, but Yumichika grabbed his hand and pulled him toward him.

“Over my lap,” he said, indicated his legs.  Ichigo’s eyes widened.   He wasn’t sure about this; he thought and tried to remember he’d agreed to this already, he’d indicated no problems with this sort of thing so why should he be surprised by it? He said he’d punish him. And he needed it, as some sort of consequence that he had to face. Despite his resolve, he shook his head slightly, and saw Yumichika’s eyes narrow. “Pet, if you do not do as you’re told, I will punish you much harsher.  Is that what you would like?”  Ichigo swallowed and gave a shake of his head and slid off the side of the bed and again hesitated as he stood beside him. 

Suddenly, he felt himself falling forward and gasped as his body contacted the legs under him.  Immediately, instinct tried to kick in and he tried to stand back up, but there was a loud click and he realized his hands had been cuffed to a ring on the floor in one smooth move by Ikkaku.  Ikkaku moved back by Yumichika’s left side. There was a click and Ichigo realized that his ankle cuff had been clipped into something on the floor. He still struggled a bit but there was nowhere he could go to in this position.

“Tch, such a naughty pet already.  You will learn, though, my sweet pet.  Now, Ikkaku, hand it here,” Yumichika said and Ichigo felt something smooth and soft sliding against the skin on his ass.  It was soft enough to be considered a caress, and then there was a loud twacking sound as Yumichika brought the heavy leather encased paddle back and swiftly back down, making Ichigo gasp out and jerk.

“Ow, please stop, no,” he whimpered into Yumichika’s leg.  Yumichika had spread his legs out to distribute Ichigo’s weight more evenly and to offer more support.

“Ichigo, remember what you must say if you need me to stop. Otherwise, no, I will not stop, and if you are not quiet, Ikkaku will gag you, now that’s two extra swats for speaking while being punished,” he said and brought two slaps down in quick succession, one to each pale cheek.  He yelped each time the paddle connected and it was feeling like his rear was on fire.  His face was also flushed bright red, but he wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or the position he was held in.

Then Yumichika began in earnest, swatting him with hard, random hits of the paddle, making sure to bring his rear to a bright red by the time he paused and looked over his work.  Ichigo was sobbing into his leg now but had quit asking him to stop.  To be honest, more than half of the swats that Yumichika had doled out could have been avoided if Ichigo had simply kept quiet. But that was part of this. Ichigo had not once uttered the word red, though, nor indicated he was in trouble. He handed Ikkaku the paddle back and ran his hands over the hot, reddened flesh.  Ichigo whimpered and flinched at the touch of Yumichika’s cool hands.

“There, now pet, it is over,” he said gently, reaching down to release his ankle as Ikkaku released his wrists and stepped back. 

Ichigo stood up and stared at the floor covering himself again, embarrassed but at the same time, he realized he was incredibly aroused, and he was trying to hide it.  Yumichika stood and slapped his hands away and smiled at him.  “Ah, pet, did a paddling get you that excited?”  

Yumichika reached behind him and squeezed the heated flesh and he whimpered as the pain flared out from the touch.  But at the same time, he couldn’t hide the state of his arousal.  Yumichika smiled at him and ran a gentle hand over his hair and down his shoulders. 

“Come here, pet,” he said.  “You did so well under your first punishment, I’ll reward you now, my pet,” he said and pushed him down on the bed.  “On your stomach again,” he said with a nod at him.

Ichigo swallowed, trying very hard not to focus on the tingling burn in his flesh.  It hurt but somehow it felt good at the same time. He was focused on that feeling and it coursed through every part of his being. It was like the feelings were linked together, the aroused state he found himself in and the stinging burn he felt. It was as though the two things were somehow twisted up together in ways he’d never imagined. Every movement shot sensation up his spine, and it was like he could finally _feel_.

He jerked though when he felt something warm and wet touch his raw flesh.  It was a tongue, he realized, wait, he though, glancing over to see Ikkaku standing beside the bed.  It was Yumichika’s tongue.  After a few minutes of excruciating pleasure at having him lick the raw flesh, he felt Yumichika’s finger began to trail down the crevice, followed by his tongue.  Ichigo felt his legs pushed apart and gasped as Yumichika’s slender finger touched him gently, and then he felt his hot tongue press against his entrance and he whimpered.  Yumichika laughed and then plunged his tongue inside and Ichigo let out a long low moan.  He was moving a lot and then felt Ikkaku grab his wrists and then he couldn’t move them.  He felt pressure on his legs and realized his legs, too, had been secured.

Yumichika continued licking at his sensitive entrance, and worked a finger in beside his sinful tongue, and Ichigo was panting openly now.  He’d never felt anything like it.  He thought he would quite possibly come just from being touched like this.  Then he felt Yumichika move and his hips were lifted and something slid down his cock and he felt like he couldn’t release. 

“There, my pet, that will let you hold out longer, because I’m not nearly done with your reward for being such a good boy for your punishment,” Yumichika said, moving back and licking a stripe from the back of his testicles and over his perineum before dipping back into his body with the wet muscle.

Ikkaku stared, always amazed at Yumichika when he did this. He couldn’t imagine the sensations of it because he had never let him do it to him. He was fascinated though. It was somewhat a good thing that Shinigami weren’t human, else he had a feeling these things would be quite different. The fact that Yumichika was excited more when Ikkaku was sweaty was something he would never understand. He usually didn’t like to go down on Yumichika right after a training session, however, Yumichika had so such issue.

Ichigo was whimpering from pain and need by the time Yumichika had worked three of his slender fingers into him alongside his tongue.  How could he experience so many sensations at one time?  Yumichika stroked something inside him and he moaned and let out a screeching sound that was definitely not human. Yumichika looked over to Ikkaku who shrugged at his partner. He had no idea what that was. Yumichika paused and turned Ichigo’s head toward him with his free hand and saw that one of his eyes had changed, the sclera turning black, and the iris morphing gold.

“Ichigo!” Yumichika said sternly and swatted his rear soundly with his open palm.  He whimpered and the color began to bleed to normal.  “Listen to me.  Control it.  I have control of you.  Now take control of him, or I will have to punish you in a manner neither you nor the hollow will enjoy at all. I’ll put you in a chastity device for a good long while until you are begging me to let you out of it. Is that what you want? Control it,” he said, petting his hair as he nodded and took in a shuddering breath as the last of the color left his eye.  “Good, good, my pet, now you did very good,” Yumichika muttered, shifting to kneel between his splayed legs.  “Now, do you want to be rewarded for doing such a good job?”

Ichigo’s eyes were watering and he nodded.  Yumichika snapped his fingers over his right shoulder and Ikkaku unhooked Ichigo’s ankles and wrists quickly.  Ichigo didn’t move, though, until he felt Yumichika guide him to roll onto his back.  He laid there and looked up into the rich violet of Yumichika’s eyes and waited.  Yumichika smiled then and shifted, opening the yukata and pressing his own arousal against Ichigo’s straining member and stroked them together.  Ichigo moaned and looked even more debauched than he had before, and that was saying something. 

Yumichika leaned forward and whispered into his ear.  “Ichigo, this is the last time I’ll ask, from now on, I won’t ask, are you sure about this?  Are you sure you want to carry this forward?”

Ichigo whimpered and bucked his hips up against him.  “Please…just…I need you inside me, I need to feel you…I’m sure, Yumichika, I’m very, very sure…” he moaned.

Yumichika nodded and kissed his temple gently before he grabbed a tube he’d dropped on the bed earlier and covered himself with an ample amount of the lubricant.  It was a thicker one than he and Ikkaku used, but for Ichigo’s first time, he wanted to make it as comfortable as possible.  He shifted him again, pulling his legs up and over his shoulders.  The position would give him the greatest amount of control over Ichigo’s body if he felt resistance or that he was in too much pain.  He looked down into the substitute shinigami’s face for any sign of resistance or fear, and all he saw was want and desire.  With one swift motion, he buried himself into the virgin below him and nearly came on the spot.  Even with as much as he prepared him, it was tighter than he expected and he saw Ichigo’s eyes were watering and he was biting into his lip.

“Shh, relax, you’re tensing up, pet, don’t, it hurts if you do that, just relax, let your body adjust…” Yumichika said, reaching down to stroke his hair and feeling bad that he was hurting him.  It was the first time, though, and once he was more used to it, he’d no longer feel discomfort. 

Ichigo hadn’t really thought much about the how much having sex for the first time would hurt.  It had been somewhat painful but exciting when Yumichika had paddled him, and he found that his body responded to the hypersensation left afterward.  This, though, he was half tempted to ask him to stop to take it out of him, that it hurt too much.  For a slender man, Yumichika was certainly packing an ample cock in his hakama.  He bit back the words, including the words behind his tongue to call for Ikkaku so he could be let out of the whole thing. Calling red never crossed his mind, honestly. He wouldn’t do it.  No, he had the choice, and he was making it.  He could stop this at any time with the call of one name.  No, he wasn’t going to do it.  He wanted this to work.  He wanted to control the hollow and the power, and he had no other recourse left.  This had to work. If it didn’t…he didn’t want to think of that.  Lives were on the line, quite literally, if he could not focus on the task at hand.

“You have to relax, pet, now,” Yumichika’s voice was gaining the authoritative tone that made even Ikkaku straighten a bit. Ikkaku was standing at Yumichika’s side watching intently.

Ichigo nodded, breath hitching as Yumichika reached down and began to stroke his softening arousal.  The pain was subsiding, though, and he pushed back on Yumichika. Yumichika began to move, and when he did, he brushed that bundle of nerves inside him and he gasped, the pain forgotten.  Yumichika slid all the way out and then slammed back in, getting a scream out of his pet as he kept pushing back against him.  Yumichika snapped his left hand over his shoulder, and Ichigo felt the bed dip and he saw Ikkaku behind Yumichika.  What was he doing? His thoughts were shattered though when Yumichika slammed directly into his prostate this time.

Ikkaku knew what the left snap meant, of course.  It was the “fuck me now” signal, and Ikkaku, who was sporting a rather painful and unattended erection was more than happy to comply.  He dropped the hakama off his body and climbed behind Yumichika, pausing to slick himself with the gel, and waited for Yumichika to still.  He pushed his legs apart and drove into him hard and fast, feeling the familiar sensation of him tightening against him. 

Ichigo realized what they were doing and felt the increase in weight as Ikkaku began to do the work, his thrusts transferring through Yumichika’s body and into Ichigo’s.  Before long, Ichigo’s cock was staining painfully against the ring Yumichika had put there.  He whimpered and gasped and finally Yumichika reached down and pulled the ring off.  Ichigo’s back arched immediately and he came harder than he had ever before onto his and Yumichika’s stomachs.  Yumichika growled and his hips stuttered a couple times and he followed Ichigo into bliss, filling him fully and falling forward as Ikkaku thrust once more and went over the edge.  He’d intended to hold off, but between watching Yumichika play with Ichigo and then actually getting to join them, he couldn’t hold off a moment longer.

Ikkaku moved back, falling to his back, and Yumichika followed suit, rolling to the side and grabbing a towel he kept underneath to clean off himself and Ichigo.  He smiled as he realized Ichigo had passed completely out.  Yumichika finished cleaning them and snuggled in on one side of Ichigo and Ikkaku laid against the other, both hoping he would have no nightmares with them both there to protect him even in sleep.  Yumichika’s mind whirled madly.   Years ago, sitting at the feet of his Master, he’d dreamed of this day, holding someone like this, totally and completely his.  He had never thought it would come.  He reached over and interlaced one hand with Ikkaku’s.  Together, they would care for him.  Together, they would see that he became greater than he ever was before.


	5. Consideration Begins

Ikkaku was glad when lunch rolled around the next day. It had been a rough one with the recruits pestering him with inane questions about Yumichika and Ichigo. Currently, he was not permitted to answer those questions.  By the end of the week, Yumichika planned to have him practicing again.  Today, though, Ichigo had still been completely passed out when he woke to leave, and Yumichika had said that they'd leave him be after such an intense day before. Not to mention, they were nowhere near ready to head into public yet. Going in front of the rest of the eleventh would be interesting, to say the least. He honestly wasn't sure how that scene would play out, but it would be what it was. He headed toward the place he was meeting Izuru, Renji, and Shuhei for lunch. He was dying for a good meal that he didn't cook himself.

He entered and found the other three lieutenants already seated around a table to the back. He waved and headed over after ordering his meal. He flopped down beside Renji and sighed with a pleased smile.

"You look happy today," Renji commented. "How's it going with Ichigo?" he asked, looking up at his friend. Ikkaku paused a little too long, though because everyone at the table was looking at him now.

"Ikkaku…" Renji said, arching a brow at him. "What's going on?"

Ikkaku frowned. "How much do you guys know about his…peculiar situation?"

The other three lieutenants exchanged glances. "That's not ominous or anything, Ikkaku," Shuhei remarked, sipping his water.

Renji shot the dark haired lieutenant a glare. "I know that Kuchiki-taichou said there was a meeting today with the other captains about him, I figured it was something about that incident where he lost control the other day."

Ikkaku nodded and thanked the girl that brought him his noodles. "Yeah, well, that's part of it. See, what they didn't really tell everyone is that none of them are expecting him to recover, and even the head captain felt it was only a matter of time before he was consumed from the inside by the hollow."

All three of the others stared at him. "Wait," Izuru said quietly. "You're telling me, that the head captain was fine with this? Letting him out around everyone in that condition?"

"He had hopes that he would maintain control, but Renji and Rukia saw what happened when he tried, and failed miserably. The hollow consumed arrancar and shinigami inside Ichigo's body then absorbed the hogyuku to keep him from dying. The fact that he hasn't already turned into a hollow is a miracle. And the bad part is, even his father agreed with the plan to wait and see. All they could hope was he would retain control of it somehow," Ikkaku said, pausing to eat his noodles. "But the captains know this already. The meeting today is about…um…the plan Yumichika came up with to try and help Ichigo."

"Yumichika?" Renji said, arching a brow. "He came up with a plan? I mean, I know you and Yumichika are close friends and all, but he's not really the first person I think of when it comes to solving something of this magnitude…"

Ikkaku smirked. "Well, turns out that this is exactly in Yumichika's purview. See, I guess you guys at least should know, otherwise the next few weeks are going to be shocking, and we really don't need bad, especially since the sou-taichou, Urahara-san and Kurosaki-san have already agreed to it being the only course of action we can see."

Renji glanced nervously at the other two. "I don't understand, Ikkaku."

Shuhei's eyes went wide. "Fuck me, Ikkaku, you mean you really are doing _that_?"

Izuru and Renji turned to stare at the dark haired lieutenant. "Well, unless you have another way to try and help the poor bastard, it was the last option. And we're talking all the way, so…"

Shuuhei sat back and stared at him. "He agreed? I mean, he seriously _agreed_? I know Yumichika had mentioned it a time or two that it would be the ultimate goal for him, but to find someone…he never thought that it would happen…"

"Okay, what are you two talking about?" Renji said, his cheeks beginning to color with his frustration.

Shuuhei looked at Renji. "Yumichika's a Dom."

Renji opened his mouth and closed it. "What? You mean, like a _Dom_ Dom?"

Ikkaku nodded. Renji turned to him. "That means you're…"

"Yup," Ikkaku said with a bright grin as he finished off his lunch.

Izuru still looked confused. "I don't understand."

"Holy crap, and you convinced Ichigo to be his…" Renji said, sitting back.

"Pet. Totally," Ikkaku said with a smirk. "No control over anything in his life anymore, Yumichika is his master in every aspect. And there wasn't much convincing to it. He was coming apart at the seams rapidly, when Yumichika brought it up, he took it like a drowning man grabbing a hand. He said that's what he felt like, like he was drowning."

Izuru's eyes went wide now. "Wait, you mean like that bondage play that you and Yumichika used to do?"

"Used to? Izuru, we never stopped," Ikkaku said with a smirk. “We just got more experienced at it.”

Renji sat back. "Okay, I know this stuff goes on, but I had no idea that you and Yumichika…I mean, Yumichika is so…um…you know…"

"Girly?" Ikkaku said with a smirk. "Yup, you know how he is. He wears kimonos and flowers and anything pretty when he gets the chance. You should see him shopping in the world of the living!"

"But you let him…um, you know…" Renji said, his cheeks coloring.

"Oh hell no," Ikkaku said, shaking his head. "Not even close. I do _not_ bottom."

Renji shook his head. "Wait, but you said he's the Dom, so that makes you the sub?"

"Yup, but that doesn't mean I bottom," he said. "That's in our contract, I don't do that. Besides, I don't think Yumichika could go without being fucked for more than a week."

"Contract?" Izuru said, leaning forward. "That sounds so formal."

Ikkaku nodded to them. He then flagged down the serving girl for another bowl of noodles. "It has to be, to keep everyone safe, you know, and happy. But we are only like that in the bedroom. We keep things separate between our shinigami lives and our personal relationship. However, that might change with this addition…"

"Wait, so how does this work, I thought it was you and Yumichika, but Yumichika's got a thing with Ichigo? So, like cheating on you?" Renji asked, trying to wrap his head around it.

Ikkaku sighed. "No, we've decided on a group dynamic. Yumichika gets to have Ichigo however he wants him, but if he wants me to, I take on the role as his master too. It was the way Yumichika was trained. He was a sub before he became a Dom, and so I've learned the same way. So I will get a chance to Dom some, but only as Yumichika wants me to."

"I don't get how kinky sex makes Ichigo control his hollow, though," Shuuhei said, arching a brow at Ikkaku.

Ikkaku stared at him a moment then sighed, dropping his head to the table in frustration. He mumbled under his breath for a moment before he lifted his head back up. "Sex doesn't even have to be a part of it. We gave Ichigo the option to skip that part of the relationship. He chose not to.

Renji's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean, he's like _that_? I thought him Inoue were, you know, after the way he went off to Hueco Mundo after her…"

Ikkaku shook his head. "Nope. Not even once. He has no interest in girls, apparently, never has, just never had a chance to do anything. I mean, hell, the boy was drug into shinigami duties at fifteen, then goes to Hueco Mundo, spends almost a year in a half in a coma, and wakes up with more than a little dose of hollow."

Renji leaned back. "I never thought of it that way…I mean, he's not like us, he's human…"

"He was. We're not really sure how much of his human self is left after the hollow got done with him," Ikkaku said with a sigh.

"I still don't get how you can do this without sex, isn't that like a huge part of it?" Renji said, frowning and leaning forward.

Ikkaku sighed. "Look, think of it this way, you have control over yourself, right? Well, when there is too much stuff to control, you start losing it. Like say you're running a sparring match between two recruits. Then you have a second match, then two more, and you keep running these matches, and they all need help with something, and you're running between them all. You can help them all, briefly, but you can't do it properly because your attention is split between too many tasks. So things start breaking down and no one receives enough of your attention and you've lost control of the entire thing. Now, if you had someone step in and take over a few of the matches, your attention would be more focused, and the less you had to focus on, the more intent the focus. This is the same way. By giving up some control to someone else, it offers clarity in other areas. Ichigo is so lost in himself, he can barely function for trying to control the powers inside him. This way, Yumichika asserts control over everything, so he doesn't have to think about anything except doing what he's told, but this allows him the internal focus he needs. Does that make sense?"

The other three nodded. "I guess. Okay," Renji said. "Tell me what to expect so Rukia doesn't flip. You know how fond she is of him, and if he's different, she's going to go off, and you know that."

Ikkaku smiled. "I don't know. He wears Yumichika's collar, a thin white leather thing right now for the consideration period," he paused, seeing the frowns. "Two weeks, after that, Yumichika sits down with him and he decides if he wants to continue or not. Anyway, at first there won't be much, just a few things, and to be honest, Yumichika won't let him out much until he has the protocols down. I guess, well, he'll have to say things that Yumichika's trained him to say, kinda automatic responses. He'll defer to Yumichika for all decisions…um…when they're together Ichigo will be required to walk somewhere, I don't know, he hasn't said what that protocol is going to be, when they sit, Ichigo probably will defer to sitting by his leg, that's generally the protocol used for a sub in his position…"

"He's going to make him sit on the floor?" Renji asked.

"Not all the time, only when it is appropriate for him to show that sort of submission. But it also depends on him. The details will be fixed when we sit down with the training contract," Ikkaku said with a shrug.

"But what if he wants out in the middle? You're talking like he's signed himself into slavery to Yumichika," Izuru said quietly.

Ikkaku smiled. "That's where I come in. I'm…Ichigo's safe person. If there's something outside of the relationship, something he needs to talk about, I'm safe because I can go to Yumichika on his behalf. That way, their dynamic doesn't break, but he retains the ability to change things if something happens. But other than that, he doesn't have a choice in what happens between them."

Renji nodded. "This is a lot to take in, Ikkaku. I just…wow."

"We just need you to make sure others don't take this wrong. Ichigo needs support, not to be put down for his choice to do this. Some people won't understand. We just need to be sure his friends at least accept what it is," Ikkaku said with a nod.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Yumichika sat and watched him sleep. He really wanted to take him, dress him in a pretty little outfit and parade him around the Seireitei to show off his ownership of perhaps the loveliest creature in all three realms. He smiled at the thought. That would be such a turn on… He sighed, but he wasn't ready, nowhere near ready, for something like that. But he would be one day, he bet. Ichigo was showing the sort of reactions that Yumichka though might turn into him being very proud of being owned. No, by the time he was done, he had a feeling Ichigo would ask to be shown off like that to everyone. Yumichika crawled onto the bed with him and settled down beside him and began stroking his hair gently. He was amazed by how soft it was, and how long it had gotten, now well below his neckline. Yes, he'd have him keep it like this, and possibly braid it down his back. Yes, that would be lovely. He frowned as he thought. He really needed to go to the world of the living; he needed a few things for him. He smiled to himself and slid off the bed again, an idea coming to him immediately.

Moments later he'd cuffed his hands and ankles with the soft leather and wool cuffs. He made sure there was a finger's space under each, just in case. Ichigo stirred a bit in his sleep but Yumichika kept working. He took a chain and snapped the ankle cuffs together, then ran it up behind him and looped it through the wrist cuffs, and with a tug, pulled his ankles back up behind him to meet his wrists. His eyes opened then and he gasped out loud from the sudden motion.

"Yumichika!" he gasped and Yumichika smiled. Definitely not the proper response, just as he expected. Ichigo was nowhere near conditioned enough to respond properly when he was caught off guard. But that was the purpose of this, to help him understand what was expected.

"Pet, what was that?" he said, yanking harder on the chain, pulling the muscles in his shoulders taunt, but not enough to strain the them too much. Granted, considering the fortitude of the shinigami, he didn't have a whole lot to worry about when it came to injuring the young one under his command.

"Ow, oh, sorry, Yumi-sama," he panted, his neck arched backward in a futile attempt to see Yumichika, also not an appropriate reaction.

"No, no, do not say you are sorry. _Sumimasen_ is the response I expect when you have broken our protocols from now on, Pet," he said softly, running a hand down his back gently. "I will not punish you for that, because I did not warn you ahead of time, and I did not give a direct order. Do you understand this? Always obey a direct order, or there will be immediate punishment as there was last night when you refused to obey me. There is the matter of calling me by the wrong name. That you were told very clearly already. Should I punish you, my pet?"

Ichigo swallowed the automatic response of "no" and knew what he needed to say but he couldn't seem to make the words come yet. He heard a sigh behind him and there was a quick flash of pain on his still sore rear from Yumichika's open palm. He gasped and his eyes watered a little. He really didn't want to be paddled again at the moment, especially since it seemed to arouse him.

"Answers need to be given immediately, pet, remember. Should I punish you?" he said, his hand rubbing circles gently against the small of his back.

"Y-yes, Yumi-s-sama…" he said finally, biting his lip at the stretch of the odd position with his hands and feet behind him.

Yumichika smiled and released the tight hold he had. There was a four inch chain between his wrists and ankles, leaving him a slight amount of play. Yumichika took another length and snapped it into the ring in the collar and ran it to a ring at the headboard. Ichigo's eyes followed him as he worked. He then reached under the bed and retrieved a box and dug around for a moment before Ichigo felt the bed dip and Yumichika's hands were on the hip that was up.

"Now, as your punishment, you will stay here while I make a short trip to the world of the living. Ikkaku will be home in less than an hour’s time, and you will tell him that you not to be let up from here until I return. But first," he said, and Ichigo felt his finger slide down from the small of his back to the hidden entrance to his body and he felt the slickness on it. He jerked at the touch, more than a tad sore after his first time. "I know you are sore here, pet, just bear with me. This is your punishment though, so it is not meant to be completely pleasant."

He slid his slender finger inside, moving within him as Ichigo tried desperately to be still, wincing at the slight burning sensation. "There now," Yumichika said, patting him on the hip with his other hand. "You are such a good boy, you really are, Pet."

His finger moved away and Ichigo thought he was done until he felt something harder and blunt pressing up against him, and then sliding inside. His eyes widened and he tried to turn to see what Yumichika was doing but Yumichika put his hand on his head gently, keeping him still, and worked the object the rest of the way in, settling it against his body. Ichigo let out a pained moan and writhed back against him, feeling the stiff material rub against places inside him. He whimpered, wondering what he was doing to him.

"Yumi-sama…." He said with a whine. "What…what is that…what…"

Another swat followed, close enough to the plug that it jostled it against his prostate, and he let out a drawn out moan. "No questions in that format, Pet. If you wish to ask, ask properly. To ask a question, use my name and make the request. The format is important, and it must always be the same. So for this, you would ask permission to ask a question first. Then you will wait for a response, and once given, you will speak your question. So shall we try again?”

Ichigo wasn’t sure entirely what he wanted, but he thought he understood. “Yumi-sama, please, I have a question,” he finally panted out.

“Yes, pet?” Yumichika said, waiting patiently for him.

“Yumi-sama, what are you doing?” he finally asked, hoping that he was doing it correctly. Yumichika smiled. Vocal training did take a while.

Pet, this is your punishment, but to answer your question, it is a plug. I'm sure you've heard of them, and if I find it has fallen out, or if you ask Ikkaku to remove it, I'll tie you up where you cannot move at all, and secure you with a much larger one all night. Do you understand, pet?"

Ichigo nodded and received a quick swat for it. "Yes, Yumi-sama," he said quickly this time.

"Verbal replies, Pet, always verbal replies that end with 'Yumi-sama', do you understand that?" he asked, caressing the spot he had just slapped moments before, feeling the heat from the flesh.

"Yes, Yumi-sama," came the quicker response. Yumichika smiled. He was a quick learner, that was certain. He hoped that once they progressed past the mild punishments he would continue to be as accepting.

"This is today's lesson, my love, my Pet. Each day of your consideration period, you will receive one simple lesson that has three parts. This is today's lesson. Answer immediately, and ask questions as I’ve instructed, in proper format,” he said, gently probing the end of the plug and making Ichigo's breath hitch repeatedly. "The last thing is distress calls. Now, I'll let Zaraki-taichou know that you bound here so if there is an emergency, he can see to you. Yes, my love, he is aware of this," he said when he saw Ichigo's shoulders tense. "All you need do to get his attention is send a spike of reiatsu, and he will come help you. But I warn you, do not do so falsely, or I _will_ publicly flog you. I will not tolerate abuse of your safety system; it is the one area there will be no, I repeat, no going easy on you. I swear, if you use it falsely, I will strip you naked and drag you on a leash to the middle of the practice field and flog your back until it's bloody with everyone in the eleventh watching if they want. A distress call is just that, for distress only, not discomfort. Do you understand me, Pet?" Yumichika's normally soft voice was hard, and he had no doubt that he would follow that completely.

"Yes, Yumi-sama," he said with a hard swallow, trying not to squirm as he pressed against the plug. The thought of being flogged publicly was horrid…and strangely arousing.

"Alright my pet, be good, and I will return soon. Before I go, tell me the three things you have learned today, and when I get back, you will do so again," he said, pressing harder into the plug and getting a whimper out of the bound sub.

"Yes, Yumi-sama. Answer immediately, Yumi-sama," he said, then panted quickly trying to catch his breath as Yumichika did his best to distract him with the sensations. "Do not question Yumi-sama improperly," he said, and gave another quick pant. "And distress signals are for true distress only, Yumi-sama," he said with an added pant at the end followed by a long drawn out moan again as Yumichika moved the plug in a circular fashion, brushing his prostate several times in the process.

"Good, good, pet. Now when I return, if you've been a good boy, and you can tell me all those things again, I'll reward you. Do you understand? And if I have found out you came while I was gone, you will be punished."

"Y-yes, Yumi-sama," he said, his body on fire from the constant stimulation. He wondered if he could hold out without releasing because he could already feel the fire pooling inside his belly and building steadily.

Yumichika moved forward and planted a gentle kiss on his temple and left quickly, closing the door to the bedroom behind him. Ichigo wasn't quite sure which was worse, the stimulation or being left alone and bound in the awkward position. He closed his eyes and tried very hard to ignore the sensations, but found it nearly impossible. Then, after about perhaps an hour, he realized something. He was so focused that he wasn't nervous or anxious, and there were no issues with the hollow at the moment, even under the binding, there was no burning need to suppress him. In fact, he almost felt like he was completely alone in his mind for the first time in a long while.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Yumichika headed out and knocked on the taichou's door. He heard the gruff reply and opened it, Kenpachi looking up at him with a smirk. Yumichika smiled and planted a hand on his hip.

"If I hadn't heard it from the head captain I wouldn't believe it. I knew you got Ikkaku to do what you said, but Ichigo?" he said, shaking his head and the bells on his hair tinkling in the quiet room.

Yumichika shrugged. "He needs a firm hand. I have one, taichou. I need to go to the World of the Living for a few things so need your permission. And I've left him bound in our quarters, with instructions to signal you if he needs help for something serious before Ikkaku gets back. I know you'll sense any surge in his reiatsu immediately."

Kenpachi nodded. Yachiru poked a head over his back and grinned. "Can I come along, peacock?"

"I suppose, fuku-taichou, but you shouldn't wear a gigai, you look too young to be in the place I'm going," he said with a wink at her.

She grinned. "Okay!"

Together, they took off and went through the senkaimon. They emerged near Urahara's shop where Yumichika picked up his gigai and headed to the specialty store. Yachiru followed along, walking on the top of the fences and chattering about everything around them. After a ten minute walk, they came to a storefront that was completely black and written in silver at the top were the words "The Deeps". Yumichika went in, making sure Yachiru went ahead of him. As soon as he did a woman in a black corset and leather pants came up and smiled.

"Dear me, you haven't been here in a while," she said.

"Mistress Keaga. How are you?" Yumichika said.

"Well, well, Master Yumi. Are you in good health?" she asked stepping forward and kissing the air near his cheeks. Yachiru watched with interest from beside him.

"I am," he nodded, kissing her in kind.

"What are you here for today? Do you need replacement whips or flogs?" she asked smiling.

"Actually, Mistress, I have a new sub I'm training," he said with a grin.

She smiled. "Oh, my dear, besides your lovely bald sub?"

Yumichika nodded. "I hope to bring him in when he's a little more trained, of course, but yes, he's a willful thing, wild orange hair and a personality both proud and powerful."

"Oh, quite the challenge," she said with a smile.

"Even more since he's given me total power," Yumichika said, looking away and at the wall where the leather was hung.

The Mistress gasped. "Oh my, that is a something, to be granted a TPE, did you make him your pet or your slave?"

"Pet, dear Mistress. He is quite precious to me already. I need a few things, however. A cage, a sounding set, some pretty clothes, a set of spreader bars…oh, and an assortment of your best penetrative toys, my dear, and some assorted gels and lubes, please," he said.

"Oh, my, he's your bottom?" she said. "I thought you preferred that position?"

"I always have, but this is different…" he said with a smirk.

"Give me a minute, darling. I'll pack everything you might need for an unruly sub to be trained. Is he in consideration or training?" she asked before she moved to the back.

"Consideration, so I'll also need a good training collar. I have little doubt he will wish to continue through full training. He found himself quite aroused after a few swats with a soft leather paddle…" he said with a smug grin.

"Oh my, you have a precious one, then, you think he's a painslut then?" she asked before she went toward the back.

"I think he may be one of those that goes between the two. So please pack things for both," he said with a nod and she disappeared into the backroom.

Yachiru was sitting on the counter looking around at the incredibly plain looking shop. There were leather couches and a counter, but nothing else that would reveal to someone entering that it was anything but a normal meeting place.

"She's nice," Yachiru said with a grin.

"Very. Oh, here's her sub, Lucy," Yumichika said as a woman with blonde pigtails wearing a bright pink collar and cuffs came out with a duffel bag and placed it before him and then dropped to her knees. She was wearing a white shirt and a pleated pink plaid skirt.

"Thank you, Lucy," Yumichika said with a smile.

"No, thank you, Master Yumi. It is a pleasure to service Mistress's customers," she said, her eyes trained on Yumichika's feet.

A moment later, the mistress returned with a second bag and handed it to him. "There you are, darling. I'll bill your account, please enjoy, and I cannot wait to meet your lovely pet."

Yumichika thanked her with a bow and left with both bags. He headed outside to return to Urahara's to drop off his gigai. Jinta and Ururu were the only two home at the time and both gave him a strange glance. He took his zanpakuto and opened the senkaimon so they could head back. Yachiru followed along, chatting happily the entire time. He'd been gone about an hour and a half. He left Yachiru along the way so she could pester some of the other seated officers and headed to his quarters. When he opened the door, he saw that Ikkaku wasn’t in the living room. He smiled and dropped the bags on the floor.

Yumichika nodded and headed toward their room and opened the door to find that Ichigo was still in the same position, but he could tell it was putting a strain on him. Ikkaku was sitting in one of the chairs near the windows, reading a book. Ichigo’s breath was coming in quick pants and he would whimper in such a lovely way every few moments. Yumichika entered and kneeled beside the bed near his face.

"Pet, my sweet?" he said and Ichigo's eyes flew open.

"Yumi-sama!" he exclaimed, eyes starting to water. "Yumi-sama," he said again, less frantically.

"Oh, sweet pet, what's the matter?' Yumichika asked, concerned at such a reaction. Had he underestimated Ichigo's tolerance? He knew he was moving fast by human standards, but Ichigo was far from human.

He stared at him with wide eyes for a moment and Yumichika smiled softly and stroked his head gently. "Shh, you may tell me when I ask, my pet. You will not be punished for answering me when I ask you something."

Ichigo nodded. "Yumi-sama, I…I was…afraid you would…stay away…" he said finally, his eyes dropping as he said it.

"Oh my dear pet, why would you think that? I would not have accepted you if I did not intend to care for you," Yumichika said, softly running hands over his hair. "Come, I would like to show you how I will attend to you. But first, repeat your lessons for me."

Ichigo swallowed, chasing the scattered thoughts and finding them immediately coming together. "Yumi-sama, answer verbally with Yumi-sama, never question Yumi-sama improperly, and always remember that the distress signals are for true distress, Yum-sama," he said with a wide eyed look at him. He was suddenly extremely proud of himself. He’d been able to put all his thoughts together in something that was sensible.

Yumichika smiled. "Very good, my sweet pet, now, do you want to be rewarded for being such a very good boy?"

"Yes, Yumi-sama, please, Yumi-sama," he said.

"And what would you like to be your reward?" he asked, cupping Ichigo's face gently.

Ichigo swallowed. "To come, Yumi-sama, please, Yumi-sama…"

Yumichika smiled and released the chain between his ankles and wrists, helping him out of the position and onto his back. He whined loudly as the plug moved inside him. Yumichika smiled and slid a hand between his legs and stroked his straining member.

"You held on beautifully, and you deserve a reward, my pet," Yumichika said, settling between his legs and licking the head getting a loud gasp from the sub under him.

Yumichika reached under him and slowly removed he plug, making sure the pump it in and out several times before he removed it completely, hearing the groans from his pet. He smiled and placed it on the bed to be cleaned. Yumichika then slid three fingers into the opening, crooking them to strike that sweet bundle of nerves dead on. Ichigo arched, and Yumichika put his other hand on his hip to steady him as he swallowed down his cock in one move.

Ichigo nearly came off the bed as Yumichika swallowed against him, his throat muscles working across the head and his fingers slowly stroking that spot inside him. It didn't take more than a few seconds before the world was exploding in white hot brilliance for Ichigo and he faded out completely, his head full of cicadas and his vision blank. When the world swam back to reality, he was curled against Yumichika, the other man's arms wrapped around his back, stroking up and down his spine and whispering words of comfort and praise to him. Ichigo smiled and buried his head into Yumichika's shoulder, the heady feeling sill taking over his senses, and he didn't really notice that nothing else existed at the moment.


	6. Control and Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first, this is not an entirely new chapter. I've revised and expanded the story to the point it needed another chapter in the beginning. I recommend reading it again, however, I'll make the point that this means another chapter will be coming soon.

Rukia wasn’t happy, to say the least.  She’d finally managed to catch up with Renji and ask how Ichigo was doing with the eleventh.  She herself had been busy with duties for Ukitake-taichou, and now she’d just returned with Uryuu who had sent word through Urahara that he wanted to come to Soul Society to do some research on his Quincy powers in the reashi rich environment.  He also wanted to check in on Ichigo, since it had been a few days.  Currently she was standing glaring at the red headed fuku-taichou of the sixth division as he stammered through a very poor explanation of what was happening with her very close friend at the moment.

“So you know, it just was…was the thing…with the hollow, and so there’s this thing about how to help him with the control thing, and then it happened, and well it seems to work, but then there’s…” Renji ran everything together because for one thing, he didn’t want to be the one to tell her what was going on. He had hoped he could have gotten Ukitake-taichou or even Byakuya to do this. “So that’s why you have to ask Yumichika, because he’s staying there and it just is starting to work out and you don’t want him to get in trouble…”

“Renji, tell me what you mean, and quit dancing around it,” she said, putting both hands on her hips and staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Renji ran a hand over his head.  “See, it’s like this, they didn’t really let you know how bad it was.  Um, Urahara, Ichigo’s dad, and the sou-taichou, they were pretty much waiting to see how long it would be before they had to…uh…well…kill him.”

Rukia’s brow arched.  “What?”

Renji sighed.  “It…well…they didn’t think he could handle it and after the incident where he got hurt and the hollow took over…they just figured eventually he’d lose it and the hollow would take over and they’d have no choice but to kill him.  I mean, he’s strong and all, but after he consumed those souls in a shinigami form…and hogyuku…it just…didn’t look good.”

Uryuu glanced between them and sighed.  “It makes sense, just seeing what he was like when the hollow was in complete control, that thing is nothing but destruction incarnate.”

Rukia glared at Uryuu.  “Shut up, Ishida.”

Uryuu blinked and looked away.  Apparently she was irate.  He crossed his arms and waited for the inevitable explosion. He’d gotten used to Rukia being around of late, and had taken to missing her when she was gone. Considering Uryu’s complete disdain for shinigami, he was confused by this fact.

“So what happened and why can’t I see him? And stop trying to confuse me,” she growled at him.  That, of course, had been what initiated her anger.  She had mentioned going to see Ichigo. Renji had told her that she had to talk to Yumichika. She didn’t like that.

Renji shifted again.  “Okay, well, first, Ichigo agreed to try this.  He knew that he might lose control and it scared him because he didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of him.  And Yumichika and Ikkaku, they thought that something this…um…extreme might be necessary.”

“Extreme,” she said, arching both brows. 

Renji swallowed.  “Look I wasn’t sure at first, either, when Ikkaku told us, but it makes sense, and the head captain approved this course because he didn’t know what else to do, and Urahara and his dad know, and agreed that it might be their only chance to let him control the hollow…”

“What?” she said stiffly.

“Yumichika…well, I didn’t know this, but Shuhei and Izuru knew about it, but see, Yumichika, he’s um…he’s a Dom, and Ikkaku is his um, sub, and they’ve been like that forever, and I didn’t even know that they were doing that stuff, but they’ve done it since before they were shinigami, even, and Yumichika even longer…” he said, looking anywhere but Rukia’s face.

“What does that have to do with Ichigo?” she asked.

Renji sighed.  “Ichigo gave up control to Yumichika.”

Rukia blinked rapidly for a minute.  “What does that mean?”

“Ikkaku does a better job at this than I do,” he said, trying to remember what Ikkaku had said to explain it so well.  “Yumichika took Ichigo as a sub, like Ikkaku, but more because Yumichika is controlling everything about his life all the time so he can focus on controlling the power and the hollow. It’s like a big sparring match, and you can’t do everything all at once…” he started, but he couldn’t remember how Ikkaku had explained it. Rukia interrupted him anyway.

“He’s turned Ichigo into…what?  A slave?” she asked, her violet eyes beginning to blaze in that way the Renji knew was bad.

“No!  Not at all, he’s turned him into his pet, not a slave, completely different,” Renji said, shaking his head and waving his hands.

“How is that better?” she asked.

Renji wasn’t sure how to answer that.  “Look, I don’t know all the details, but whatever they’re doing seems to be working.  He hasn’t lost control, and Ikkaku says he’s less anxious and much more relaxed and stopped having nightmares already.  And they just started this two days ago.  So there is progress….”

Rukia glared for a moment, then flashed away, leaving Renji and Uryuu watching after her.  “I hope she doesn’t give Yumichika too much trouble,” Uryuu said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Renji said with a sigh and shook his head.  “Anyway, I’ve got a meeting with the Kuchiki-taichou.  I’ll talk to you later, Ishida,” he said and was gone himself.

Rukia didn’t even bother flash stepping. She figured that if she walked, she would have a chance to cool down before she got there. How could Yumichika and Ikkaku do this to Ichigo? He had been through enough already, and he needed to take time to deal with things. How in the world could they ever think that Ichigo needed to be pulled into a perverted, sexual relationship just because they were…were…whatever they were. She had heard of this before, of course, but she couldn’t imagine Ichigo giving control to anyone. He was so protective of others, she could not imagine him needing any protection or turning himself into a slave to someone else. A few moments later, she was beating on the doorway of Ikkaku and Yumichika’s quarters in a way that left no one in any doubt she was angry. 

“A moment,” came Yumichika’s voice from inside and she heard murmured voices and another door closed.  Yumichika opened the door and smiled at her.  “Kuchiki,” he said.  “What can I do for you, dear?”

“I came to see how Ichigo was and Renji informed me of the little…arrangement you convinced him to try,” she said, eyes dangerously narrowed at the taller shinigami. The coldness that radiated off of her was quite apparent.

Yumichika sighed.  “Ikkaku said that you would not take this well, but I would advise we go talk elsewhere, I don’t want you upsetting Ichigo, he’s in a delicate place…”

“I will see him, now,” she said, glaring hard at Yumichika.

“Just a moment,” he said, opening the door.  “Sit down here on the couch, I’ll have Ikkaku bring him to you, and you’ll go to his room to talk.”

“Why can’t we talk here?” she said, crossing her arms. 

“Because his room is his safe room where he can say whatever he wants and explain to you in his own words what is happening.  Outside that room, we maintain our roles, if we don’t, this won’t work, and everything we’re doing will be for nothing,” he said, opening the bedroom door and going in, shutting it behind him.

Inside, Ichigo was sitting on his knees on the bed waiting for Yumichika’s return, as he’d instructed.  Ikkaku was sitting beside him. The rest of the day yesterday had been rather quiet. Yumichika was not going to push Ichigo beyond his limits. The small training session had been more than enough for him. He instead had given him some household tasks to complete as instructions. They were minor things, but they reinforced the idea that he was following Yumichika’s instructions. Today, so far, they had gone over the day’s lessons, and Yumichika was going to discuss his control and how he felt it was going with the hollow.

“Ikkaku, dress him in a yukata, and take him to his room to speak to Rukia.”

Yumichika moved onto the bed and kneeled in front of Ichigo and lifted his head gently.  “Pet, you may speak freely in there, remember? And if you get uncomfortable, I’ll be in the kitchen preparing some tea, and Ikkaku will be with you. Don’t be scared, she’s your friend, she just doesn’t understand what we’re doing, okay, love?”

Ichigo nodded.  “Yes, Yumi-sama.  Um, Yumi-sama?” he asked, looking up at him, wide eyed again. Yumichika thought that look was going to be the death of him.

“Yes, pet?” he said softly.

“I don’t want to take off my collar, or my cuffs, please, Yumi-sama, please don’t make me take them off,” he said, and Yumichika could feel the increase in his heart rate at the thought. 

Since he’d left him bound the day before, he hadn’t even wanted to remove the cuffs from his ankles or wrists, and Yumichika had decided that he should keep them on if they made him feel safe. The subtle pressure of the restraints seemed to be enough to make Ichigo more comfortable.

“Shh, no, sweet pet, you don’t have to take them off for any reason,” he said, and kissed him gently on the forehead.

He got up and left, heading into the kitchen, feeling Rukia’s eyes on him the entire time.  He hoped that this went well, but a part of him expected to have Ichigo come running back to the kitchen moments after speaking with her. This was the first time he’d interacted with another besides them, and Yumichika knew from experience, he was nowhere near ready for this step.  After only a few days, the routines and the expectations were still new. His control was not secure yet, and in Ichigo’s case, that was dangerous. Unlike other subs, Ichigo’s submission was somewhat not his idea. He appeared to be doing well with it, but at the back of Yumichika’s mind, he still felt that Ichigo had been forced into this. That, truthfully, was the only part of this that Yumichika did not like. He wanted his sweet little pet to give himself completely, by choice. When death is the other option, how could Ichigo ever choose something else? Still, here they were, with Ichigo not near ready to deal with someone outside the relationship.

Rukia was persistent, and he really didn’t want to deal with her angry.  Moments later, the door opened and Ikkaku came out, leading Ichigo quickly to the other room, Rukia watching every movement.  She was up and after them in a second.  Yumichika heard the door close and stopped what he was doing, closing his eyes and hoping that this didn’t do any harm to him.  He didn’t think he could take seeing him upset again. Ever since he’d laid eyes on the Ryoka so long ago, he’d felt a distinct pull to the poor boy. Brought into this world by anything except his choice, he was just trying to survive.

The second the door closed, Ichigo’s eyes lifted and he glared at Rukia, crossing his arms at her.  His brow etched immediately into his familiar scowl.

“Rukia, what is it?” he asked, sighing. 

Ikkaku smirked as he sat in the chair opposite the bed to watch. He half expected Ichigo to start yelling at her. After all, submissive didn’t mean weak or quiet. He didn’t think that Ichigo could ever stand back and be that sort of person.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes. “Trying not to get myself killed by half the Gotei 13.  In case you didn’t notice, I am having a bit of trouble with containing the hollow and the power he consumed.”

“But…this?” she said, pointing to his wrists, still covered in the cuffs. 

Ichigo’s hands went to them and he frowned.  “There’s nothing wrong with this, Rukia.  I know you don’t get it, but it helps.  I…I can focus.  I don’t have to fight to control every little thing around me while I’m keeping the stupid hollow in check.  Rukia, I don’t dream about it.”

“About what?” she asked, frowning.

He sat down on the end of the bed with a flop. “The killing, every time I’ve slept since I woke up in the fourth, I’ve seen what the hollow did with my body.  And it feels good, Rukia.  And I want him to take control, so I can feel that again, Rukia, that’s the problem. And there’s this hunger, Rukia, I can’t explain it. I feel that hollow drive, that need to consume those souls and it is eating me from the inside. I can’t do it. I can’t control everything.  I needed help.”

“Help is one thing, but this…this is…perverse,” she said, straightening her back and crossing her arms.  “To be forced into this stuff, did you even know what you were doing?  Did you understand what kind of kinky, weird sex they were into?"

Ichigo rubbed his forehead.  “Look, this isn’t even about sex, Rukia. This is about control.  Yumi helps me by giving me a structure and it feels good. I don’t have to deal with the outside world.  And okay, yes, sex is nice, and a good release, but that’s the least of what this is about. Rukia, I feel like I’m alone up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “There’s no noise, there’s no worry…”  His eyes widened.  “Shut up, Shiro,” he mumbled.  “I said, shut up, dammit,” he muttered, standing up.

Ikkaku stood.  “Ichigo, don’t let him take over.”

Ichigo blinked and stared at Rukia for a moment, and she stepped back, seeing one of his eyes bleeding into black and gold.

“Okay, Ichigo, come on, out,” Ikkaku said, grabbing him by the wrist. Ichigo shook his head and started to giggle in the high pitched voice they really didn’t want to hear.  “Ichigo, Yumi can’t come in here, remember, that’s why he doesn’t want you to leave him right now.  You need Yumi, come on,” he said, and Rukia’s eyes widened as Ichigo’s other eye started bleeding into black.

“Help me,” Ikkaku said, and Rukia grabbed his other arm and they hauled him out into outer room.

“Yumi!” Ikkaku said, and Yumichika came around where they were holding him. Ichigo was trying to shake them off, but he also seemed to be fighting the internal battle.

“I was afraid of this. It is far too early,” Yumichika said with a sigh.  He moved forward and with one quick move snapped the cuffs onto each other and hooked a finger under the front of the collar, snapping his head upward to look him in the face.

“Ichigo!” he said, watching as the black was nearly overtaking his right eye.  “Control him!  I have control of you, you control him!”

The giggling faltered and stuttered in his throat.  The black seemed to pause and begin to slowly recede.  Yumichika yanked harder on the collar, nearly lifting him off his feet, getting a harsh gasp.

“Remember what happens if you lose control, pet,” Yumichika said as stern as he possibly could.

“Y-yes...” he said softly, fighting to regain control.  “Y-yumi-s-sama…”

“Good, good, keep going, pet, come on, you can do this, pet, I know you can,” Yumichika said, relaxing his hold on the collar and lowering him down as his legs gave under him.

Yumichika kneeled with him as he bowed his head and breathed harshly with his hands clutched to his chest.  “Control him,” Yumichika said.  “I have control of you, you have control of him,” Yumichika repeated.  “Look up, let me see,” he said, hooking his other finger under his chin and lifting his face up.  The black was nearly gone from his right eye and starting to edge out of the left.  “Good, good, you are doing so well, just a little more, my pet,” he said, reaching up with one hand to stroke his head, while the other held tightly to the collar at his throat.

He whimpered from the effort and it was obvious the hollow wasn’t making it easy to push him back.  Yumichika watched as the black fought the white in his eyes, and he felt him tremble against him. 

Yumichika looked up toward Ikkaku. “Get a blanket, and bring me the shortest chain, he’ll be more comfortable if I secure his wrists to the collar so he doesn’t have to hold them up like that.”

A moment later, Ikkaku returned, dropping a blanket around Ichigo’s shoulders and handing him the small length of chain.  He snapped it into the collar and released it, then snapped it into the wrist rings.  He watched as Ichigo’s shoulders relaxed and his hands quit clutching against his chest as he let them rest against the support of the collar.

“There, now, come on,” Yumichika said, taking both hands and stroking his hair and tipping his head upward to see the last of the black receding.  He smiled at him as Ichigo blinked up at him.

“W-was that…good…Yumi-sama?” he asked quietly, nearly whispering.

Yumichika smiled and pulled him forward into an embrace.  “Very good, pet, very good, now you need to rest, that was very stressful.  Do you want me to remove the chain?” he said, hooking a finger under the chain between the collar and the wrist cuffs.

Ichigo shook his head quickly and looked at him with wide eyes.  “No, please, leave it, Yumi-sama…I’m not…sure he’s gone…”

Yumichika helped him to his feet and took him back into their bedroom.  A few minutes later, he reemerged and gestured to Ikkaku who stood and went into the room.  Yumichika shut the door quietly and went back out and saw Rukia staring at him, though her face had changed somewhat. She looked on Yumichika with less anger, and with more understanding. 

“You wouldn’t believe that unless you saw it in person, it was why I let you see him. I was sure something would happen. I had hoped it wouldn’t. He isn’t ready to deal with his own emotions.  Any loss of control leads to the hollow taking the opportunity to surface. He has two weeks to consider what this is, Rukia.  At the end of two weeks, we sit down and decide if this continues.  If it isn’t working, we stop.  I think it is, as you saw.  He finds being bound a comfort, because it shackles his mind, not really his body.  He could easily break that chain, but he doesn’t because it is a symbol,” Yumichika said with a sigh as he sunk into the sofa.  “Everything, and I do mean everything, Rukia is for him.  It is so much more than a power game for me, dear, it is…all for his mind.”

Rukia found herself staring at Yumichika for a long time as thoughts ran rampant around her head.  She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right.  Ichigo without the control Yumichika was exerting was quite literally out of control.

“I suppose I thought that it was the weak who were controlled by the strong,” she said finally, looking up at him.

Yumichika smiled.  “Not at all. Sometimes it is the strong that need to be controlled more than the weak, and it is sometimes the weakest among us that need to be in control.  We live such long lives, Rukia, and we do so many things.  Death gods indeed,” he said with a smile.  “We are not gods, nor are we angels, and we get tired, and we get bored, and we find ways to entertain ourselves.  Some of these things are healthy releases, some are not.  Sometimes, like Zaraki-taichou, we dye our world red with blood and thrive in the fight and the slaying of lives, no matter if they are hollow or shinigami.  Sometimes, like Kyrouku-taichou, we dive into our work and alcohol that doesn’t affect us like it should.  Sometimes, like me, we find out giving up control is nice, and then we decide that instead of giving up control, we want to take control.  I spent many years, Rukia, as a pet to my Master.  He’s gone now, and I took Ichigo in as I was once taken in.” 

Yumichika paused and looked thoughtful. “When I met Ikkaku, my master had already been killed by a hollow.  I was alone, and I was looking for something.  Ikkaku was also very much alone and he was so strong. I took him, and we decided that we would be together, behind our bedroom door, and I would dominate him in some ways, but not all, of course.  So I have been…unfulfilled.  Ikkaku fills my needs in some ways, but not in others.  I need to care for someone completely, and you understand that?”

Rukia moved to sit beside him as she listened and then she sighed.  “I think I do.”

Yumichika glanced over and saw the expression of confusion on her delicate face.  He recognized that face.  “You feel weak, do you not?”

She looked up, her eyes wide.  “I am weak, Yumichika.”

“No, you perceive yourself as weak.  I can show you how to be strong, dear.  I will show you how to assert yourself in ways that will influence you in so many ways.  If you desire it.  I’ve seen the yearning and curiosity on Renji’s face as well. Each time I see him since this began, he glances at me, and I read his eyes as he wonders what it is like to assert this control over another.  Speak to him.  I would be happy to introduce you to what it is that I do, if you desire it.  I also know a certain Quincy that may be interested in a bit of…ah…loss of control.  As well as a certain older brother you have. And I have it on good authority that your red headed friend has more than a desire to chase after his captain in the sense of Shinigami abilities…” Yumichika said, standing, and going quietly into the bedroom, leaving Rukia to think on his words.

After a long moment she stood and went to find Renji, to see if what Yumichika said was true.  Did she yearn to make herself stronger?  Would it help her?  She was so weak compared to the others…  Before long, she found herself at the sixth where her brother and Renji were in their office.  She knocked lightly.

“Enter,” came Byakuya’s voice.

She entered and glanced at her brother thoughtfully for a long moment, then looked at Renji, who sat seemingly immersed in his paperwork.  She caught the glances he cast at her brother now and then.  There was more in those glances than simple devotion to his captain. 

“Nii-sama, I am sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if I could speak with Renji,” she said finally.

“I take it you have been to visit Kurosaki,” her brother said, not looking up from his work, his gloves pristine even with all the ink around him. 

“I have, Nii-sama.  Indeed, and I…think I need to talk to Renji about a few things,” she said, glancing at her confused friend.

Byakuya glanced up at her and tilted his head to the side.  “You do not seem as disturbed by the situation as I anticipated, Rukia,” he said thoughtfully.  “Considering your attachment to Kurosaki, I assumed you would disapprove of the course of action.”

“I did, at first, until I saw first-hand what Yumichika is doing.  And I have to admit, I…am fascinated.  He asserts control over even the most violent of the hollow’s instincts with a word, and he has only done this for a couple days.  He isn’t ready to see others yet, though, so I will not disturb him like that again,” she said with a smile.

“You talked to him?” Renji asked.

She nodded.  “I…I’m going back to talk more to Yumichika, he suggested you come with me, Renji,” she said, eyeing the red-head.

Renji swallowed and glanced up to see Byakuya staring at him, and then looked up at Rukia.  “What for? Ikkaku told us all about what was happening…”

“Not about Ichigo, about…what Yumichika is doing for him,” she said, shifting.  “I’m interested, and he seemed to believe I could use some help being more…assertive in my life, and perhaps it would help me.”

Renji opened his mouth and closed it then saw that Byakuya was practically glaring daggers into his lieutenant.  “Hah, yeah, you know, Rukia, you and I…we’re not…we’re friends and all, but I’m not into that whole…”

Rukia grinned.  “No, gods, no, Renji, I’m not talking about you and me,” she said, rolling her eyes.  “That would be like…like…eh, you’re my brother, Renji. Besides, I happen to know you’re interested in someone else, anyway.”

Renji’s face colored slightly at her words and his eyes darted to where Byakuya was watching, no longer glaring at him but with great interest now.  For a second, his eyes locked with his taichou and then he swallowed and looked back to her. 

“Sure,” he said, with a decidedly unmanly squeaking sound as he stood and followed her, completely forgetting to ask permission to leave.  Byakuya watched them go, putting down his quill and tapping his lip thoughtfully with his gloved hand.  What in the world did Rukia have in mind, anyway? 

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Rukia knocked once more on the door to Ikkaku and Yumichika’s quarters. Ikkaku opened the door this time, and she could see that Yumichika had changed, wearing a pure white yukata, his hair pulled back from his face. Yumichika was going through a duffel bag over to the side.

“Rukia, Renji, I did not expect you so soon,” he said, smiling softly.  “Come, I believe that you may enjoy yourself if you choose to stay.  I have a certain loss of control from earlier to deal with when Ichigo wakes from his sleep,” he said. 

“What do you mean?” Rukia asked, entering before Renji. 

“We have agreements, each time he loses control, he receives a punishment, granted, I think he likes the punishments so far…” he muttered the last, turning and going to the kitchen.  “I know Ikkaku is a brat just so I’ll flog him.”

Rukia and Renji exchanged glances.  “So you’ll punish him even though he regained control?” she asked, frowning.

Yumichika nodded.  “Of course, we’re trying to get him to avoid losing control at all, aren’t we?”

The door opened to the bedroom and Ikkaku emerged, stretching as he came out.  He was dressed in a set of white hakama at the moment. He glanced over to Yumichika who sat in the larger chair sipping from a glass of water.  “Yumi-kun, are you certain he’ll be up to having others around?”

“Ikkaku, now, you know as long as he’s under my control he’ll be fine.  Remove that control, and he’d have problems.  But I believe that Rukia and Renji may be interested in what we’re doing.  Granted, I prefer to train the way I trained you, but it would take too much time, and to be honest, having some others around may help our plight to assist our dear substitute shinigami,” he said with a sigh.  “Did you go over today’s lessons with him?”

“I did, this morning while you were at the practice field,” he said with a nod.

“Let’s hope he remembers his lessons, then,” Yumichika said with a smirk.

“Lessons?” Rukia asked with a frown.

Yumichika nodded.  “During the two week consideration period, each day I teach him three things.  His first day, yesterday, was simple.  Answer immediately when I say something to him, never question me without the proper format, a format I instructed him in, and never use his distress signal for anything other than true distress.”

Renji tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean by questions in a proper format?” Renji asked curiously.

“Vocal training,” Yumichika said with a sigh. “It is a way to encourage a system of responses based on stimulus. It becomes almost automatic that when certain things are said, they are returned in a rather exacting format. It is a trial, currently. Some people do well with vocal training, and others do not benefit from it. Just like most the things we do right now, it is to understand Ichigo’s needs.”

“Are there that many different things to learn?” Rukia asked, frowning. 

“That, and more, my dear,” he said with a smile.

Ikkaku leaned over and kissed Yumichika on the cheek.  “I notice you’re in white, Yumi-kun.”

“Yes, love, I am, it will be a long night I believe, if it is your desire to have my, ah, attentions, sweetheart,” he said with a smirk.

“I thought you’d forgotten me with your little Pet keeping you so busy,” Ikkaku said, smirking in return.

“Oh, is my painslut in need?” Yumichika said softly.

“Oh, yes, Yumi-sama,” he said, turning and walking into their room, and shutting the door softly.

“Yes, my two dears, you shall see two versions of what you may encounter.”

Yumichika stood and went to the door, beckoning the pair of them to follow him into the bedroom.  “Now, I must ask you remain quiet and watch only,” he said as he entered.

Rukia and Renji exchanged a glance and followed him into the next room. Inside both stopped and stared at the scene set before them.  Ichigo was still sleeping, hands bound together to his collar with the short chain, and his collar hooked to the ring at the head of the bed.  He was still wearing the cream yukata he’d worn when he spoke to Rukia earlier.  Ikkaku however was wearing a fundoshi and nothing else, kneeling at the foot of the bed facing them as the door opened.  Across his lap lay a riding crop with a white wrapped hilt.

Yumichika motioned over to the side where there was a two seat sofa.  Renji and Rukia went to it silently and sat.  Yumichika stopped before Ikkaku.

“You’ve chosen the white crop, love, tell me, why?” he said, holding out his hand.

Ikkaku moved without looking up and held the handle to Yumichika.  “I crave the marks you leave, Yumi-sama.”

Yumichika took the leather pad of the crop and walked around Ikkaku trailing the smooth leather against his jawline.  “And shall I whip you before or after I punish my Pet?” he asked.

“Before, Yumi-sama, I wish your pet to watch,” he said, attempting to hide a smirk.

Yumichika narrowed his eyes and laid a swat on Ikkaku’s jaw sharply.  “Now, now, you know better than that, love.”

“Yes, s _umimasen,_ Yumi-sama.”

Yumichika nodded and placed the crop back across Ikkaku’s legs and moved to the head of the bed where he leaned down and cupped Ichigo’s face and kissed his forehead gently.  “Pet?” he said softly, stroking his jaw as he spoke.  Ichigo hummed and his eyes fluttered open to see Yumichika looking down into his face.

“Yumi-sama?” he said questioningly.

“Yes, pet, please, what are your lessons today?” he said softly.

Ichigo blinked and faltered a second.  Yumichika waited patiently.  He had just woken him from sleep.  To expect an immediate response would have been too much at this stage.  Ichigo nodded, biting his lip.

“Do not say ‘I’m sorry’, say s _umimasen_ when the protocol is broken, Yumi-sama,” he said.  “Protocols may be changed in the safe room, Yumi-sama, and…”  Ichigo paused, obviously having a bit of difficulty with the last thing he’d learned that morning.  Yumichika wasn’t surprised, in fact, he was honestly impressed he could collect two of the three so easily.  “And if my control is breaking, seek out Yumi-sama to help.”

Yumichika smiled and kissed him gently on the forehead again.  “Good, good, my sweet pet.  Now, Ikkaku has a desire to have you watch me flog him before your punishment.”

Ichigo blinked.  “Yumi-sama, punishment?” he said softly, brows threading together in concern.

“Hush, now, love, you didn’t seem to mind too much the last time.  You know the consequences of losing control…” Yumichika said with a gentle smile.

“B-but I didn’t…it was…and…” Ichigo started to stammer, eyes wide.

Yumichika arched both sculpted brows at him and Ichigo’s eyes went wide.  “ _Sumimasen,_ Yumi-sama, please, I didn’t mean…”

“Shh, come now.  Here, sit up, and watch as I fill Ikkaku’s needs,” Yumichika said, pulling him upward to sit on his knees. 

Despite his efforts to keep his eyes trained on the bed, he noticed another presence, of course it was hard not to notice the other reiatsu in the room.  Ichigo’s eyes widened and he stared directly at Rukia and Renji who were both watching the scene intently.  Ichigo’s mouth opened and closed, and he was truly unsure of what to do.

“Focus on Ikkaku,” Yumichika said into his ear and turned his head toward the end of the bed where Ikkaku was still kneeling in anticipation.  “They are here by my permission, pet, that means you will accept their presence.  Do you understand?”

Ichigo nodded and exhaled. “Yes, Yumi-sama,” he said and looked down the end of the bed to the top of Ikkaku’s bald head.  He swallowed nervously.  He hadn’t expected Rukia to actually come back, let alone watch…

Yumichika moved around and reached for the crop.  Ikkaku handed it upward and Yumichika took it.  He swished it through the air a few times, moving around and snapping it against the bed. 

“Up, over the bed, Lover,” he said.  Ikkaku stood and turned, kneeling and leaning over the end of the bed with his hands linked over his head. His eyes locked on Ichigo’s and he winked at him as he leaned down.

Yumichika stroked the tanned flesh of his back a few times.  “It is unfortunate we heal so well, rarely to scars remain behind.  It simply means I should mark you more often, love.”

“Yes, Yumi-sama,” Ikkaku said, and Rukia and Renji saw the smirk he tried to hide against the bedsheets.

“You’re smiling, aren’t you, love?  You do want a stiff punishment, don’t you?”

“Yes, Yumi-sama,” he said, biting down on his lip.

“Very well, love,” he said.

The first strike with the crop caused Ikkaku to release a pent up groan and Ichigo flinched at the power behind it.  An immediate welt rose on his shoulder blade.  Yumichika was strong, and the hits were completely random, and Ichigo could feel a feeling of anticipation building in his stomach, thinking of what Yumichika had planned to punish him this time.  Ichigo watched Yumichika’s face intently. Yumichika’s face was focused and he seemed to be absorbed in what he was doing. His eyes never looked away from what he was doing. After a solid twenty strikes, Ikkaku’s skin split in a spot and Yumichika stopped, putting the crop down on the bed.  Ikkaku was panting heavily by that point. Ichigo noticed that he didn’t tell Yumichika to stop. Yumichika reached under the bed to reach a cloth. He gently dabbed away the blood.  Ikkaku moaned under the pressure.

“Here, shh,” Yumichika said as he applied a bandage gently over the wound and blew gently on the heated flesh of his back.  “Now, there, love.  Do you wish rest, or do you wish to participate with pet’s punishment?”

“Yumi-sama, I wish to play with your pet,” he said, cutting his eyes up at him.  Yumichika shook his head and kissed his back between his shoulder blades.

Ichigo for his part was hiding more than a bit of arousal at watching Ikkaku be flogged. Ichigo, though, flinched a bit when Yumichika came toward him. Even though he had trusted him, he still was not sure that he wanted such an extreme punishment. After all, he had gotten control back. Surly his punishment wouldn’t be that severe…

“Oh, no pet, shh, don’t worry, that is not for you, my dear,” he said, motioning to the crop where he had left it on the bed.  “I will not use that on you, sweet pet, you are far too delicate for such a thing.”

Ichigo watched Yumichika as he unhooked his collar from the bed and then released Ichigo’s wrists from the collar.  Yumichika brushed a hand over his head gently and tipped his face upward.  “You did so well today that I will not punish you too harshly, my dear sweet.  Just enough to remind you that you cannot get to the point that you need to fight to regain control.  The whole point is not to lose control at all, yes, my dear?”

Ichigo swallowed hard and nodded.  “Yes, Yumi-sama, s _umimasen._ ”

Yumichika moved and sat at the end of the bed and motioned Ichigo to come to him.  Ichigo swallowed and stood beside him, still unsure of this whole process.  Yumichika patted his lap.  “Over, pet,” he said.

Ichigo hesitated again, still taking too long to move on his own.  Again, he felt the world tip as Ikkaku, who he hadn’t realized was behind him, tipped him forward onto Yumichika’s waiting lap.  He tensed immediately but didn’t fight to get up this time, at least not very much.

“Do I need to chain you again, pet?”

“No, Yumi-sama,” he said tensely.

“Relax, pet,” Yumichika said, and Ichigo felt him lift the hem of the Yukata over his rear.  He whimpered a bit when he felt Yumichika’s hands on him rubbing gently.  He heard Yumichika snap twice and then Ikkaku moved away and returned, and he sensed he was kneeling beside him.  He glanced to the side and saw that Ikkaku was indeed in front of Yumichika.  Then he felt something slick and wet sliding against him and he jerked.

“Easy,” Yumichika said softly.  “Like yesterday, that was nice, was it not?”

“Yes, Yumi-sama,” Ichigo breathed.  That had indeed been pleasant…torturously pleasant.

Once again, he felt the plug pressing against him and then sliding inside.  He closed his eyes and let out a long drawn out moan as Yumichika’s expert hands rotated the plug against that sweet spot inside.  Yumichika moved and then Ichigo felt the smoothness of the leather covered paddle sliding against him.  Yumichika was wonderfully random, and before Ichigo could even think, four heavy swats had landed and set him to gasping and wriggling against the lap he was laying against.  He bit his lip, because that same sensation somewhere between pleasure and pain was rushing through him. For a moment he debated earning more.  After six more swats landed, he was hiccupping back whimpers and his lip was nearly bleeding from holding back.  But at the same time, he was aroused so much that the pain from being paddled was nothing compared to the pain from holding back an impending orgasm.  Honestly, he was whimpering more from need than pain by that point.

Yumichika smoothed his hands over his oversensitive flesh and Ichigo flinched, burying his head into the bed beside Yumichika’s thigh. He was going to explode. 

“Goodness, Pet, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so aroused by a little bit of paddling in my life,” he said, stroking him gently, then gripping the base to stave off his oncoming orgasm.  Ichigo gripped both hands into the sheets and whined loudly at that.

“Oh, my what a needy little pet,” Yumichika said, rubbing one hand over his back under the yukata while he held his cock firmly with the other.  “Are you a needy little pet?” Yumichika asked.

“Yes, Yumi-sama,” he said, tightly, whimpering at the end.  “Please, Yumi-sama…”

“Please, what, Pet?” Yumichika asked, motioning Ikkaku to get up.

“Yumi-sama, I need…I need…” he said, panting heavily now.

Then Yumichika slid a ring down over him to replace his hand and Ichigo really did whine loudly.  At the same time, he enjoyed the sensation of being held in check like this. It made the whole thing mean so much more it seemed. He panted, and he was really glad that Yumichika used these rings, as annoying as he thought they were initially. They kept him from going over the edge too soon, and he could learn to control that too.

“Hush, now, you are going to be rewarded, love, you’ve been such a good pet today, and did wonderfully during your punishment.  So I am going to let you pleasure me while Ikkaku has the honor of taking you for me to watch,” he said smiling.  “You will be allowed to come, do not fret,” he said, seeing the pained expression.  “If you do a good job, you will be rewarded so well.”

Yumichika moved and sat against the head of the bed and opened his yukata, letting it pool on either side of him. Ichigo wasn’t sure what to do.  Ikkaku came up behind him and whispered into his ear.  “When Yumi-sama uses the word pleasure, he wants you to take him into your mouth,” he said, stroking a hand down Ichigo’s chest and untying the sash on the yukata, removing it slowly from him as Ichigo moved forward slowly.

“Yumi-sama…I’ve…never…”

“I know, pet, I know.  Remember what I did yesterday?  Try to do that,” he said with a gentle smile. “Carefully, and not too much.”

Ichigo still wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do.  Then he felt Ikkaku behind him pressing down on his shoulders, so he went with it, letting Ikkaku position him, using his forearms for support beside Yumichika’s hips and bringing his mouth down to the dripping head of Yumichika’s arousal.  He stared for a moment and then swallowed, remembering what it was that Yumichika had done to him.  Then, however, Ikkaku took that moment to begin to play with the plug that Yumichika had inserted, and Ichigo’s world blanked for a minute as he moaned, his head dropping onto Yumichika’s thigh.  If it hadn’t been for the cock ring he would have come right then.

Ichigo felt his head being guided and he blinked realizing that Ikkaku was helping him along.  He vaguely heard Yumichika chiding Ikkaku for hitting Ichigo’s prostate before he even got started.  Then his mind cleared and he slowly licked at the head before him, and found to his surprise, it was salty and different but not necessarily bad.  He laved his tongue around it and then tried to swallow like Yumichika had done and came up coughing violently.

“Oh, no, you can’t just go straight to it like that, pet,” Yumichika said, reaching out to stroke his hair again.  “Easy, don’t take it like that, put your hand here,” he instructed, moving his hand to the base and then guiding him back onto it.  This time he didn’t choke. 

Ichigo was proud of himself based on the sounds Yumichika was producing then he groaned as he felt Ikkaku lift his hips upward and slide the plug out slowly.  The vibrations from Ichigo’s moan were pleasing to Yumichika, though, so he didn’t hold back when he felt Ikkaku move up behind him and press into him in one swift motion.  Ichigo nearly collapsed, and if it hadn’t been for Ikkaku shifting his arm underneath Ichigo’s body to hold him up, he would have.  Ikkaku was thicker than Yumichika, though, and it felt different but as he brushed against his prostate repeatedly he was nearly weeping from the pain of being unable to release. 

Yumichika could tell Ichigo wasn’t going to be able to finish this so he picked his head up and stroked him gently and smiled at him as Ichigo nearly melted into Yumichika’s hold.  Definitely too much sensation for him at the moment, Yumichika decided. He reached down and released the ring from him and Ichigo gripped him tighter, holding himself back. 

“P-please…Yumi-sama...” he gasped into his shoulder as Ikkaku continued to set him whimpering with his powerful thrusts. Yumichika was honestly impressed at his ability to hold himself back without the ring.

“Come, pet,” Yumichika whispered in his ear and Ichigo practically screamed as he went over the edge, followed shortly by Ikkaku.

Ichigo’s head was again filled with nothing but whiteness and the soft blurring around his senses.  He sighed and gripped tightly to someone, he wasn’t sure if it was Ikkaku or Yumichika, but he felt the gentle hands that could only belong to Yumichika.  He wasmoving, but the world was still blanketed in white as he breathed against someone, and a blanket was wrapped around him. 

Yumichika stroked his back as he settled against the headboard with him.  Ikkaku had grabbed his yukata and taken Renji and Rukia out to the living room until Yumichika was done riding out the subdrop with Ichigo. His own experience for tonight was more for Ichigo than himself, of course. He had wanted to let Yumichika gauge Ichigo’s reactions to what Ikkaku enjoyed. Ikkaku came back and slid down beside Ichigo and let himself come down. It wasn’t the same for him, as he rarely dropped like this. Yumichika petted Ichigo’s head gently and spoke quietly to him as he snuggled tighter into him. Yumichika waited as Ichigo’s heart rate began to slow to somewhat closer to normal.  Yumichika smiled and kissed the top of his orange head gently.

He glanced over at Ikkaku and smiled. “Well, Ikkaku-sama, I’d say you had your first experience with topspace,” he muttered.

“What do you mean?” Ikkaku said, frowning at him.

“I saw your face when you were in control of Ichigo, don’t hide that from me. Now you see, don’t you?” Yumichika said.

Ikkaku wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he had to admit it felt different. It was a heady feeling, something similar to what happened when he released and let Yumichika have full control. He fell into that subspace where everything Yumichika did was out of his control and he instilled every bit of trust into him. This, though, this was different. Even though he was doing what Yumichika asked of him, it was different, as though he was leading Ichigo somewhat.


	7. Choosing to Submit

 

“Yumi-kun?” came Ikkaku’s voice from the doorway.  He blinked slowly and yawned, careful not to disturb his sleeping pet.  “Will you speak more to Renji and Rukia tonight or should I send them home?” he said quietly.

Yumichika nodded.  “I’ll speak to them; you stay with him.  I believe he’s asleep, but he may still be out of it when he wakes.”

Ikkaku nodded and replaced Yumichika in the bed. Yumichika wrapped his white yukata around him, his own arousal having faded as soon as Ichigo had needed him. He came out and saw the two other Shinigami sitting and making whispered conversation with each other. They both looked up when Yumichika came out.

“I wonder how you feel about seeing Ichigo like this,” Yumichika said as he sat down.

Renji stared at Yumichika for a long moment. “Um, I don’t know what to think…it was…really…ah…”

“Arousing?” Yumichika asked with a smile. “That’s fine. It can be arousing. There is nothing wrong with that, Abarai. If it is in your desire, you would be able to participate with him.”

Renji’s eyes went wide. “You me, you know, do that? But what if he doesn’t want to do that with me…”

Yumichika smiled at him. “He readily agreed to having others play with us.”

“Play?” Rukia asked with a frown.

“Yes, play, that is what it is called, when we play out a scene with each other. Sex and domination are things that are on a different level than sex between people. I suppose we have a casual sexual relationship among those of us that do this. Or perhaps when you have a group of people that share among each other, it is similar to having multiple partners in a way,” Yumichika said with a soft smile. “But then, I would wonder how your others would react to having you control them in this fashion. Would you collar Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-kun?” Yumichika said with a smirk.

Renji’s face reddened. “Um, I…how do you even know this?”

Yumichika shook his head. “I see things others might not. I see the slight tinting of your cheeks when you look at Kuchiki-taichou. I see the way that Ishida-san looks upon you, Rukia. I see that look of adoration mixed with fear. I see the way you assert yourself over him without realizing it. It is subtle, but I’ve been doing this for a very long time,” Yumichika said with a sigh. “So, yes, there are signs, but most people won’t see them.”

Renji bit his lip. “But, okay, well, how the hells am I supposed to approach Kuchiki-taichou? What…what do I say? He’s my taichou!”

Yumichika sighed. “Assert yourself, boy. If you are truly to Dominate Byakuya Kuchiki, you cannot be subtle about it. He will not bend to anyone’s will, unless he chooses. So, approach him as you would with full intent. If he is agreeable, he will give you control. Remember this, the submissive is not powerless. They give us control. We never take what is not willingly given. The submissive controls what we do. We control how we meet the submissive’s needs.”

Renji nodded, looking at his hands and wondering how exactly he was supposed to do this without having his captain use his Bankai on him… Rukia wasn’t sure how she felt about this, because she knew Uryū’s feeling son the Shinigami…

“You fret that our Quincy will find being dominated by a Shinigami to be improper?” Yumichika said with a subtle grin. “I think you will find that Uryū Ishida has been tightly wound most of his life. He has clung tightly to things that he has wholeheartedly believed. He has had his world exploded by finding that the Shinigami are not the monsters he believed them to be. He is lost. Ichigo requires control for some very specific reasons. Ishida, however, he is simply unmoored.”

Rukia nodded. She has, for a while, felt drawn to the Quincy. She hadn’t been able to explain it. It was as though after the incident with them coming to save her, she had become glad to see him when they encountered each other. She didn’t understand it. She’d never felt that way about another. She saw Ichigo and Renji as her family, but Uryū… There was something about his cocky nature that she wanted to knock down a peg or two. And while she was honestly not interested in him sexually, she wanted to see him with…

“Ah, so is something wrong with me if the dominating part is what entices me with Ishida?” Rukia asked quietly. “I…I don’t think he’s interested in women…but…”

“You wish to see him with, perhaps…my pet?” Yumichika asked with a smirk.

Rukia colored at the statement and Yumichika smiled again. “Dominating doesn’t mean having sex with your sub all the time, sometimes it is only about filling their needs. I enjoy both aspects.”

Renji and Rukia asked a few more things, mostly about the things that Yumichika had done so far with Ichigo, and then they both set off to think. It was a lot to consider.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Renji stood outside the office door wondering what the hell he was supposed to say to his captain. _Taichou, I just wanted to talk to you, because I want to fuck you and tie you up and make you my toy…_ Yeah, that would go over well. Just the “fucking” part was going to be hard to get past. It was true, desperately true, but still. He swallowed and went in. Assertive. _If he wants to give me control, he will,_ he told himself. He took a breath and went in, hoping he didn’t end up in the fourth division for this.

Byakuya was sitting at the desk going over paperwork. Renji licked his lips for a second and then walked over to him. He stood in front of the desk for a second until Byakuya looked up at him. He appeared a little confused by Renji’s appearance.

“Fuku-taichou, I thought you were otherwise occupied today and would not be in?” Byakuya asked.

“I am otherwise occupied. With this,” he said, locking eyes with Byakuya.

“What do you mean by that, Abarai? I’m busy,” Byakuya said and started to look away.

“Don’t look away from me,” Renji said in a voice that was a lot stronger than he expected at that moment.

Byakuya tilted his head to the side and frowned at him. “Excuse me, Abarai, what did you say to me?”

Renji thought might as well go forward because he was going to get his ass kicked either way. Might as well dive into it. “I said, don’t look away from me. You heard me.”

Renji was sure that Byakuya’s gaze was going to bore through him. The man was so hard to read, but Renji had known him a long time and he saw the slight dilation of his eyes. He had him. He just had to keep going. He was reacting, more than he’d expected.

“I think that you need to be put in place, ‘Kuya,” Renji said, walking around the desk. Byakuya didn’t move his eyes from Renji as he moved. “Because I think that there’s some part of you that wants to let go. I think that there’s some piece of you that wants to know what it’s like to be someone else’s property. No, I don’t think, I know, ‘Kuya. I know.”

Renji was doing his best to not look scared out of his mind because if Byakuya wasn’t going along with it, he was going to be on his ass in about two minutes’ time. And that was best case scenario. “Renji Abarai, I think you have overstepped…” Byakuya began.

Renji moved then, stepping forward and grabbing the front Byakuya’s shihakuso in his hand and putting his face nose to nose with the captain. He was amazed he could keep his breathing even through this. He’d doubted he could do it, but once he started…it felt right.

“I think you have overstepped,” he said breathily. “I think you want to be put down. I think you want someone to make you grovel and beg. And I’m telling you that I want to be the person that does it. I’m telling you that I want to have you, every piece of you, and I want you to show me the part of you that no one has seen since you were a boy. I want you to give it to me, ‘Kuya.”

For a second, Renji saw anger flash in Byakuya’s eyes and he was more than a little worried that he was about to be picking shards of Senbonzakura out of his ass for a week. He didn’t flinch, though, and he didn’t show it. Instead he continued.

“You are so perfect and controlled, ‘Kuya, and I want to mess you up so much. I want to see you writhing in pleasure and pain, and I want to see that perfect hair mussed and tangled. I want to see you on your knees and begging for release. And I want to see you in all your beauty. I want to see you let go and I want to see you find out exactly how much control you can lose before you go out of your mind,” Renji said slowly, leaning even closer. “I want to then put you back together and walk out in front of the fourth division, knowing that even though you are my superior, you are my boy, my property to do with what I will, and knowing that every time you give me an order in here, I’ll give you two in our bedroom.”

Byakuya’s eyes had gone a bit wide, Renji realized, and then noted that they were both blown wide as he stared at him. Renji reached out and put his free hand against Byakuya’s face. “You can say no, and we forget this happened. I’ll walk away, and nothing will change. But…if you say yes, I promise you, I will make you the most important thing in my life and I will never do anything that will hurt you no matter what.”

Renji stepped back then, swallowing hard. He nodded and headed to the door. He paused, turning to stare at his obviously dumbfounded captain. “If you do say yes, I’ll be at Yumichika’s tonight. He’s instructing me.”

With that, he disappeared out the door and Byakuya stared for a long time.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Uryū sat on the floor and looked over scrolls and books; frankly, he was exhausted. He’d found nothing new. He was a stymied as he had been before. He ran his hands through his black hair and growled in frustration. He was about to go home at this rate with nothing new. There was something here, he knew it. Something about the Quincies did not make sense. He couldn’t put it together, but it was like it was just outside his reach…it was hidden in the shadows of his mind.

“Ishida,” came Rukia’s voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the petite woman standing and leaning against the doorframe.

“Oh, hi, Kuchiki. Um, I…”

“When did you last eat or sleep?” she went on.

Uryū looked up at her and blinked in confusion. What in the world brought this up? “Um, I…I don’t know…I’ve been…”

“Get up,” she said and for some reason a chill went down Uryū’s spine.

“Wh-what is it?” he said, getting up even though he questioned it.

“You are going to eat, and then you are going to sleep, that’s what,” she said with a look on her face that made Uryū sure he did not want to argue with her. She was somewhat scary like this.

Uryū started to argue a bit, after all, why did it matter. “Well, I just don’t know what it is I’m missing…” he started.

“Of course you don’t, idiot. You can’t think without food and sleep or did you forget you’re human? Now I said come on, and I mean it,” she said and Uryū didn’t even think he just followed her.

Why was he following her? He swallowed as they went toward a ramen place and she ordered for him. That was unusual, but she ordered what he liked. He sat down and at while she watched him the entire time. Then, when he was done, she took him to the room he was staying in and led him inside. Once the door shut behind them she turned on him, and Uryū’s breath caught because she was right there suddenly.

“Now. I’m giving you a choice, Uryū Ishida, last of the Quincy. You hate everything we are, do you? Well, you are falling apart and can’t even see what is before your eyes. I’ve had my eyes opened recently about a lot of things, but one of the biggest ones has been that I am more than I believed before. You are treading dangerous ground, not as dangerous as Ichigo, but still. I think that an arrangement between us might benefit you. You need to be allowed the space to come undone. I’m willing to let you, and help you. If you wish it,” Rukia said, her violet eyes never leaving Uryū’s.

“Um, I don’t understand, what do you mean?” he stammered.

“Just what I say, idiot. If you want to, I’ll be at Yumichika’s tonight receiving his instruction. Come if you wish. If not, fine as well,” she said and nodded emphatically before she turned on her heel and left the room.

Uryū was left staring at the door for a long time. His heart was pounding in his chest and he didn’t understand why. He wasn’t attracted to Rukia, not like that, but something about the way she just let him glide through things in the last few minutes had been…relaxing. He swallowed and shook his head. He wouldn’t go to her to night, this was nonsense. He fell into the bed, though, and fell instantly asleep. He never fell asleep right away…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Yumi-kun,” Ikkaku said softly as he came into the living room. Yumichika was sitting on the futon with Ichigo asleep with his head on Yumichika’s lap. His hands were clipped to the collar and he was curled against Yumichika’s belly with his face.

“Yes, love,” he said, taking the cup of tea from Ikkaku.

“Um, aren’t we…” he started but there was a knock at the door. Yumichika smiled to himself.

Ikkaku went to the door to find both Renji and Rukia standing there. He smiled. “Yumi-kun, I believe your students are here,” he said with a smirk as he came back in.

Renji and Rukia came in and sat down across from Yumichika. Yumichika smiled at them. “How did your proposals go today?”

Renji shrugged. “Well, I’m not pulling shards of sword out of my face, so better than I expected…”

“I’m not sure. Uryū seemed very unsure about it. Perhaps I didn’t do it right…” she began, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door again.

Ikkaku, who had just sat down at the table. “Why can’t everyone show up at one damn time?” he muttered. “And where the hell are we putting this many people, Yumi-kun?” he whined.

“Hush, love. Answer the door,” Yumichika said, hands still carding Ichigo’s hair as he slept.

Ikkaku was quite surprised to see that it was Byakuya who was standing at the door looking somewhat confused and annoyed. “Ah, well, that’s a surprise,” he muttered, gesturing for Byakuya to come into the room. “Didn’t expect you first.”

“First?” Byakuya asked with a frown.

“You’ll see,” Ikkaku muttered as he went back to sit down and drink his tea at the table.

Renji stood up when he saw Byakuya and stared at him, unsure what to say. It could be that he was here to chastise him, of course. “Taichou,” he said, just to be on the safe side. “I…I didn’t really expect you to come.”

There was another knock. “For fuck’s sake!” Ikkaku exclaimed, sighing and standing up. “Next time, you people need to get here at the same damn time! I want a cup of tea!” he growled as he walked to the door and pulled it open with a furious look on his face.

Uryū flinched back from him. “Get in here, dammit!” he groused and Uryū moved in past him carefully. “Crowded as fuck, and I’m not sure how this is going to work,” he muttered walking past Yumichika.

“Hush, you,” Yumichika said and slapped his ass as he walked by. “I’ll flog you until you can’t stand if you keep that smart aleck attitude up,” he said.

“Go ahead,” he growled as he flopped in his seat. “I don’t care as long as I can drink my damn tea.”

Yumichika rolled his eyes and sighed. “I think someone is feeling neglected,” he muttered.

Uryū glanced at Rukia then to Renji and Byakuya. He didn’t know what to say, but then his eyes fell on a very familiar head of orange hair resting in Yumichika’s lap. He frowned a bit and then realized that he had cuffs on his ankles and there was a collar around his neck.

“I see you’ve decided to at least come see what your fellows are proposing,” Yumichika said with a smile. “Byakuya Kuchiki, sit beside Renji. Uryū Ishida, beside Rukia. You will attend to the person you are to be with, even now. Once you enter this place, or whatever place we agree to, you will be in the submissive position. If this is an issue, leave before I begin this. If by the end of this you decline to participate, that is fine. But you will, while you are here, abide by the role you came here for.”

To Renji’s shock, Byakuya came and sat down beside him on the futon. Uryū hesitated but went and stood beside Rukia since there was no room on it. Yumichika looked at him.

“On the floor,” Yumichika said and Uryū dropped immediately, looking from him to Rukia. “And you,” he said, turning his eyes on Byakuya. “You are not a taichou here, remember that. And if you believe you are, leave this room as you came in. Otherwise, you leave your title at the doorway.”

Renji glanced at him and saw that he didn’t move to say or do anything, so he was a little worried about it. He wondered if he was just going to let them talk and then grow really pissed off. He heard a clinking and realized that Ichigo was starting to stir. Yumichika smiled.

“Ah, pet, you’ve awakened in time,” he said with a smile and reached down and put his hand on Ichigo’s face.

“Hmm, Yumi-sama…what…” he muttered, still half asleep. Yumichika smiled. He was coming along much better than he expected. He unclipped his hands from the collar so he could sit up.

“Come now,” Yumichika said. “Sit up, we’ve got guests.”

Ichigo’s head turned enough that they could see his face for a second before a harsh intake of breath. “Ah, now, now, don’t be like that,” Yumichika said with a sigh as he reached down and grabbed the ring in the collar. “I said to sit up, or do I have to make you do so?”

“No, _sumimasen,”_ he said quickly, and pushed himself up and turned to face those in the room. Rukia and Renji, he expected. But he did not expect to see Uryū and Byakuya. He looked between them nervously.

“Now, you are all here for a similar reason, so we should begin with the first things. First thing is, submissive does not mean weak. Ichigo is probably more powerful than most the captains in the Gotei 13, but he lacks the ability to control that power. So a solution is to give me control. Now, Byakuya, I know you are aware of this. Your last fuku-taichou was involved in a relationship like this,” he said and Byakuya gave a slight nod. “Rukia came to me out of concern for Ichigo. She saw what a danger he is to himself and others. Now, she and Renji have both shown traits of those who wish to be a Dominant partner for the right reasons, so I requested they approach their prospective submissives.”

Uryū looked up at Rukia and then back to Yumichika. “But…but…I’m not um…I don’t like…uh…girls…”

Yumichika smiled. “Fret not, I do not believe Rukia intends to satisfy your sexual needs, dear. In fact, I believe she is most interested in seeing those needs satisfied with the individuals that will best fit them,” he said as his hand reached over and clutched Ichigo’s thigh for a second. Ichigo, as he’d been instructed, looked downward.

He’d already been slapped a couple times for forgetting where to put his gaze. He swallowed and felt a wave of something surge through him. He felt _him_ trying to use his current confusion and anxiety to surface. He thought he was okay, though. So he listened.

“This is not without rules. And each of you, should you decide to do this, will have different protocols. Obviously, Uryū is not a Shinigami. Rukia, and anyone that dominates him, will have to be extremely careful. That will be determined in the limits you will set. The thing I remind you is that control is given away, not taken. Ichigo and I came to the agreement we have through much thought. I’ve taken full control of him, in a particular kind of relationship called a Total Power Exchange. This is not necessary. Ikkaku and I have a more tradition relationship, as our roles do not extend outside our home, or if we choose to show them elsewhere,” Yumichika explained. “There are different ways to dominate another. Some enjoy being humiliated. Some enjoy age regression. Some enjoy being treated as pet. Some enjoy a mixture. Some enjoy pleasure, some pain, and some both. Ichigo seems to enjoy a lot of different things,” Yumichika said and then glanced over to see Ichigo’s hands were trembling.

“Ichigo?” he said quietly as he leaned forward and clutched his hand. Ichigo turned and looked at him, both eyes had already changed from brown to black and gold. “Fucking hell,” Yumichika muttered. “Ikkaku, I’ll need your help this time.”

Ikkaku got up and came over. “Oh, that’s no good, he didn’t even say anything,” he muttered.

Ichigo’s head tilted to the side and he let out a muffled giggle and smiled at Yumichika. The hollow voice came out next. “Better ramp it up, Yumi-sama. Ichigo’s hunger is growing, and the more it grows, the closer I come to the surface…”

“Hunger?” Yumichika said as his hand paused in front of Ichigo’s throat.

“Hunger…gnawing…endless…hunger…” he said and the voice of the hollow intertwined with Ichigo’s voice as he vied for control.

Yumichika growled and reached out and snatched the ring of the collar and stood in one smooth move. “Pet, you need to get this under control.”

He could feel Ichigo swallow thickly but the color remained. Yumichika reached out and Ikkaku dropped the length of chain into his hand. He moved and attached it to the cuffs and then the lower ring in the collar. He still held tightly to the collar’s larger ring and then pulled harder, lifting Ichigo to his toes. He gasped out loud as the pressure on his arms had been alleviated when his arms dropped.

“Control, Ichigo. Now. Or I will bind you so tightly that you cannot move, and leave you aching for release for a full day and night. I will have you watch as I attend to Ikkaku while you are left alone and bound. Is that what you desire?” Yumichika said softly.

“N-no…Yumi-sama…” Ichigo finally managed as the color began to finally edge out of his right eye.

“I have you, Ichigo. Remember that, you’re in my control, you can control him,” Yumichika said sternly.

The others watched with rapt attention. Renji hadn’t witnessed this the last time, and how easily the hollow rose to the surface surprised him.

Yumichika felt his body slackening and he let him drop to his flat feet for a moment. His legs weren’t going to hold him, though, and once again, Yumichika knelt down with him until they were kneeling in front of each other. Ikkaku dropped the blanket down over Ichigo’s shoulders again before he moved around and waited for anything else Yumichika needed.

“Control it!”  Yumichika said after a second. “Get him under control! Now, Ichigo!” he said with a sound to his voice that none but Ikkaku had ever heard.

“Yes, Yumi-sama, yes…. yes…” Ichigo said and Yumichika watched as the color began to rapidly recede this time. It was much faster than the day before. He nodded as Ichigo began to pant heavily. “I…I tried to say…something…but he…stopped me…I…”

“Hush, pet,” Yumichika said and reached out to run his hand over Ichigo’s head. “Hush.”

Yumichika stood slowly with him and pulled him onto the futon with him. Ichigo’s hands still trembled but he leaned into Yumichika’s shoulder and sighed deeply as he fell unconscious. Those present saw that briefly, the red marks on his face had seemed to glow vibrantly.

“What I am doing with him,” Yumichika said with a sigh. “This is so much more accelerated than it should be. I’ve taken him in three days through what should take more than a month or more in training. This is because I have no choice. He is going to lose control if I don’t assert control over him. So, I will say that if you agree to these arrangements, things will not be so rapid for you two. And of course, I’ll be training both Renji and Rukia. So you both will have to be comfortable with me and Ikkaku taking their place in instructing them.”

Yumichika pulled Ichigo’s body in closer to him and sighed. “Now, Ikkaku, give them the papers I prepared. I believe that most things should be self-explanatory. Come find me tomorrow if you need help. I’m going to see if there is an empty housing unit that we might use rather than this cramped environment.”

Yumichika looked between them. “Now, if you don’t mind, I believe my dear pet has need of rest in a bed, so we will meet here tomorrow evening. If you decide to, of course.”

Yumichika easily leaned over and picked up Ichigo in his arms and disappeared into the bedroom. Ikkaku saw everyone out and wondered if they would come back the next night.


	8. Learning and Understanding

 

 Yumichika sat with Ichigo’s head on his lap again. He sighed and threaded his fingers through his hair thoughtfully. He looked up as Ikkaku came into the room.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” he said softly. “I don’t know if I can save him.”

Ikkaku sat down beside him on the bed. “You can. I know you can. The others will be there tonight and they can help you. That’s why you encouraged them to join you.”

Yumichika looked over at Ikkaku. “I knew. I knew that he might pose too much for us alone. The only two people I know that might also be able to exert control of him would be Renji and Rukia. They both showed the interest I was looking for. And if he has someone kneeling beside him he might be able to link his courage to theirs.”

Yumichika sat and leaned his head back against the headboard. For the first time in a long time, Yumichika was truly worried that he wouldn’t be able to help Ichigo. The thought made him hurt more than he expected. At first, he just wanted him. Then…it was more. He wanted to save him any way he could. And if that meant he had to train Renji and Rukia to do this as well…he would.

“You need to tell them,” Ikkaku said as he slid up beside Ichigo’s body. He’d slept through the night and almost into the next evening.

“I will, if they come tonight. Did you send word that we were using the old barracks building?” he said, looking over at Ikkaku.

“I did, to all four,” Ikkaku said as he began to run his hands over Ichigo’s arm and hip. “I don’t think I could watch him die, Yumi-kun. He’s…there’s something about him. All that power, forced onto him, and now…he’s just trying his best to survive it.”

Yumichika nodded. “It happened when you fought him when he was a Ryoka. Such strength for a human soul…”

Ichigo flinched suddenly and his eyes fluttered a bit. Yumichika frowned and pulled his head over onto his lap to face upward. They fluttered again and opened. Yumichika frowned and started to speak.

“Peace,” came the strange voice from Ichigo’s lips. “I needed…to come… and beg you…help…I can’t…hold it back much longer…”

The odd black and gold eyes moved between them and he spoke again. “The hunger is gnawing at me, us…I’m trying…you have to stop it before we hurt someone. King will be destroyed if he does something that hurts someone. I want to consume more and more. I think…next time…you’ll need your Shikai, Yumi-sama,” he said softly as his eyes fluttered. “The real one.”

Yumichika blinked. “Ah, what?” he whispered.

Ikkaku looked at him strangely. “What did that mean?”

“Nothing,” he said and stroked Ichigo’s hair again as his eyes fluttered once more. This time, they were normal.

“Yumi-sama,” Ichigo said and looked at him. “I’m sorry…so sorry…”

Yumichika shushed him and smiled. “No, none of that, you couldn’t help this. We’re going to see if Renji and Rukia will join us. I…I’m going to need their help, Pet. I thought Ikkaku and I could handle this, but it just is not possible right now. We’ll have to work together.”

Ichigo looked between him and Ikkaku. “You won’t leave me, will you?”

“Oh, no,” Yumichika said and leaned over to kiss his forehead gently. “No, sweet pet, I’ve given myself to take care of you, and I will never abandon that responsibility.”

Ichigo nodded. “Okay, I just feel…weird today.”

Yumichika nodded. “Come now, you need to eat before we go meet the others.”

“The others?” Ichigo asked before catching himself. “Sumimasen, Yumi-sama,” he said, cutting his eyes downward.

“Come on, pet,” he said and helped him out of the bed on unsteady feet. Yumichika was more than a little worried about the effect fighting these urges was having on him. He had to get him under control completely, and soon.

They sat down and had a small dinner. Yumichika got up and grabbed the bag and shouldered it. He nodded to the two of them. “Come, we don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Ichigo stood and looked away. “Yumi-sama?” he said quietly.

Yumichika looked at him curiously. “What is it, pet?”

“Um, what if…what if they don’t come…what if they don’t want to do…do this…” he said and Yumichika saw the worry creasing his face.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he said and put his free arm around Ichigo’s shoulders. “I have a good idea when people are suited for this.”

Ichigo nodded and followed him. Ikkaku, who was wearing his shihakuso still, was carrying a second bag as they walked through some areas where more than once people stopped and stared. Yumichika was wearing his white yukata, which Ichigo was beginning to realize was what he wore when he was in a very serious mode. It was symbolic, he guessed, but he hadn’t really understood exactly what the colors meant. Ichigo was still wearing the light cream colored yukata he’d worn the last night, and he once every few moments would grip one hand over his other wrist. He was barefoot, but he didn’t mind that, actually. He kept slightly behind Yumichika as they walked without being told, he just fell into that spot. Yumichika walked with such purpose as they headed through and passed several groups of Shinigami. Ichigo hadn’t even thought about the fact that this was the first he’d left their quarters.

Yumichika came to a stop after someone called out to him. Ichigo’s breath caught but he didn’t look up to see who it was. He honestly didn’t want to know who it was unless Yumichika wanted him to know.

“What in the world…” came someone’s voice Ichigo didn’t find familiar.

“What is it? Do you need something?” Yumichika asked and Ichigo saw him put his free hand on his hip in front of him.

“What are you doing?” came a different voice. Ichigo swallowed.

Ichigo grasped his left hand over his right wrist and waited. Yumichika started to say something but one of the two Shinigami moved first. He pushed Ichigo’s head up and locked eyes with him. Ichigo had no idea what to do. He hadn’t thought about anyone doing something like this with Ikkaku and Yumichika present.

“What’s wrong with you?” the Shinigami asked. He looked rather plain, dark hair and a rather uninteresting face.

Ichigo didn’t say anything. Yumichika reached out and gripped the other Shinigami’s wrist and pulled his hand away. “Don’t touch him,” he said with a tone to his voice Ichigo had never heard. “He belongs to me, and you are not permitted to touch him.”

“What does that even mean?” asked the one Ichigo hadn’t seen. At that moment he was trying to control his breathing. He felt Ikkaku’s hands on his hips though, steadying him.

“Exactly what I said,” Yumichika said with that same tone, and Ichigo wondered if that was anger. It didn’t sound like any of the tones he’d used with him or Ikkaku. There was an almost playful edge to even his sternest sounding voice. This was different.

“He belongs to me, and he is not to be touched without my permission. If you continue to do so, I’ll have to allow him to show you exactly why he belongs to me,” he said and Ichigo heard one of them snort with laughter. “You think I’m jesting,” Yumichika said. “My hold is what keeps him in check, and only that. Remember that.”

Yumichika reached behind him and grasped Ichigo’s hand tightly. He headed forward and ignored anything else. Ichigo stumbled a bit but followed, and realized Ikkaku’s hand was still on his hip. He was glad of that. They came to a building that looked like an empty barracks. Yumichika opened the door and lights came on, giving the place a subtle, soft lighting. Ichigo glanced around quickly before returning his gaze downward.

It was empty other than a few pieces of furniture. There was a table and chairs, a couple futons, several large chairs and sofas, and a few things that he couldn’t see in the shadows. Yumichika hummed thoughtfully.

“This will work. Come, pet,” he said and Ichigo moved up to him. “Now, when the others get here, I’m instructing them. I want you to do as I tell you at every juncture. Ikkaku will help you when you need it.”

Ichigo nodded and said, “Yes, Yumi-sama.”

The door opened again and Yumichika looked up to see it was Renji and Rukia. Both were in their shihakusos and looked rather nervous.

“Good, good, have you heard from the others?” Yumichika asked as he checked Ichigo’s cuffs carefully to ensure they weren’t too tight.

Rukia shook her head. “Nii-sama was rather quiet today when I saw him. And I haven’t seen Uryū at all.”

Renji nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Tai-chou really didn’t speak to me at all today. I hope he didn’t decide against it. I mean, if he did, I’m okay, but…”

Yumichika nodded. “Yes, I’ve brought some things. Most of them I’ll leave here for your use. The door will be warded and the three of us will be the only ones that can open it. I’ve had it keyed to the reiatsu patterns. So, they will be safe from anyone on the outside.”

Renji and Rukia both looked up as the door opened again, and to their surprise, both Uryū and Byakuya came in together. Both looked somewhat unsure, but they still came in and stood by the door.

“Come, over here,” Yumichika said with a smile. “Now, you two, you are mine in here,” he said and both Byakuya and Uryū only hesitated for a moment before they came up closer. “First things first,” Yumichika said as he looked between the two new individuals. “Remove your kusodo, Byakuya. Uryū, remove your shirt. The rest you may keep for the moment,” he muttered as he came over to Ichigo and cupped his face. “Now, pet. I’m going to have you wait with them while I discuss some things with Rukia and Renji. Signal me if you need help. Do not speak, understand?”

Ichigo licked his lips and spoke softly to him. “Yes, Yumi-sama. I understand, Yumi-sama.”

Yumichika leaned forward and kissed Ichigo’s lips gently and smiled at him. “Good, pet, good.”

Yumichika led Ichigo to a spot on the floor and Ichigo fell into the position he’d been instructed in. He sat on his knees with his feet flat under him. Both hands went to the top of his legs and he looked at a point somewhere just beyond his knees on the floor.

“Both you, assume this same positon beside him. Uryū, on Ichigo’s left, Byakuya, on his right,” Yumichika instructed and watched as they both responded well, if a little slowly. It took them a moment to get into the right positon, but Yumichika nodded. They wouldn’t need training nearly as intense as Ichigo. He turned to Rukia and Renji. Ikkaku had taken off his kusodo and stood to the side of the other three where they knelt.

“Now, you two,” Yumichika said and moved in a circle around Rukia and Renji. “Why will you take the position as a dominant?”

Rukia and Renji looked at each other. “Um, you…you said we were…” Rukia started.

“No, why will you take on this responsibility?” he said with a sigh. “That’s what this is, a responsibility. Your subs will put themselves into your hands, and they will be trusting you completely. You’ll take the control they’ve given you and you will treat it with the utmost respect. Without a sub, a Dominant is nothing. Remember this. No matter what, you never cross the line that will injure, alienate, or harm your sub in the least. Those papers I gave you, those boundaries will be set in stone. Now, let’s talk about those things.”

Renji and Rukia nodded as Yumichika continued to walk about them. “On the papers, there were places for both you and the sub to put down things called hard limits. These are things that will not, no matter what, be crossed. I noticed that Uryū has indicated that he has a limit for public humiliation. This limit must never be crossed under any circumstances. Byakuya as well has indicated that public play is a hard limit. This is understandable, considering his position. Renji will never cross this line. To do so is to break the contract you are forging between each other.”

Both Renji and Rukia nodded as Yumichika continued. “The power you hold is given to you. Do not, under any circumstance, abuse that power. There must always be an avenue for the sub to stop a scene. A word, a signal of some sort, whatever it is, when given, it is not ignored. This is especially important when approaching soft limits on their desires. Soft limits are possible, and you may wish to discuss trying them before you attempt them. These should not be used without warning the sub that you are going to do something that they consider a soft limit.”

Yumichika turned and looked at the three kneeling there. “They’ve all indicated that sexual activities are desired. Who knew dear Byakuya held as much of a desire for his fuku taichou as Renji has for him.”

Byakuya nearly looked up but he didn’t. He was the one that Yumichika worried the most about in this. However, he knew that Byakuya might surprise him as well. “And Uryū, sweet boy, I was indeed surprised to see that you have some very carnal desires as well.”

Uryū’s face had gone red as Yumichika spoke. He swallowed heavily but didn’t move. “I am glad that you are taking this seriously,” Yumichika said with a smile. “Now, shall we enjoy some foray into first attempts?”

Yumichika moved and opened the two bags slowly and beaconed to Renji and Rukia. A few minutes of whispered discussion and both Renji and Rukia came back with a set of cuffs and a matching collar. Both glanced at each other.

“They are yours, do as you will,” Yumichika said as he watched with his arms crossed over his chest.

Renji had picked the red leather set and moved forward with more than a little trepidation. The fact that he was here, in front of Byakuya, and about to do something he’d only imagined was running through his head. “Um, here, um, ‘Kuya,” he said as he leaned forward and snapped the wrist cuffs on him first then he looked up at Renji and for a moment Renji hesitated before he wrapped the collar around his neck and buckled it. He felt his breath against him as he did it.

Rukia, though, didn’t have any trepidation as she buckled the white wrist cuffs and collar onto Uryū. He looked up at her briefly before looking over at the others.

Yumichika nodded. “Good, more assertive, Renji, please. You are his master here, not the other way around,” Yumichika reminded him.

Renji nodded and stepped back. His hands were shaking, mostly because he was more than a slight bit aroused by the fact he had just put a collar on Byakuya Kuchiki. His collar. Yumichika looked over at Ikkaku.

“Come, love. I will demonstrate on you. My sweet pet here is not ready for what I shall do to you,” Yumichika said. “Grab the bench and come over.”

Ikkaku nodded and pulled over a bench of some sort that looked odd to those present. Ikkaku moved to lay on it, his back exposed and gripping the front of it. “Now, this is a flog,” Yumichika said as he picked up something from inside the bag that looked like a whip but was made of many strips of leather. It had a handle wrapped in white. “The technique to use with this is to strike at certain points, safe points, on the body. Even as Shinigami, it benefits us to avoid certain areas when doing this. Those areas are the spine and lower back in particular.”

Yumichika moved over and slipped Ikkaku’s hakama off his ass a bit before striking him with it the first time. “Now, notice that there is no damage to the skin other than a reddening. I’ll continue a full flog with him, and please, wait until the end until I answer anything.” He turned to the three kneeling. “You three watch as well. Heads up, please,” he said and waited for them to do so.

He moved and began working over Ikkaku’s back and buttocks with a very serious expression. Ikkaku was mostly quiet, but now and then he’d make a moaning or groaning noise. Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, Ikkaku gasped out, “Red, red, Yumi-sama…”

Yumichika stopped mid swing and set the flog down on a table he’d moved closer. He moved over and felt up and down Ikkaku’s back and covered his ass before he helped him off. He moved to a futon as the others watched him and fell into it with him. This time, Ikkaku had hit subspace, and was still a bit out of it. Renji and Rukia watched in interest at the way Yumichika held him and spoke to him for a long while until Ikkaku smiled at him and kissed him quickly.

“Oh, you brat,” Yumichika said with a smirk. “You all there now, love?”

“Yes, Yumi-sama.”

“Rest here, I’ll continue the instructions,” he said and stood and returned to them. “Now, as you can see, Ikkaku hit a space where he very literally was unaware of his surroundings. And he needed attention and care to come down out of it. This is a thing called subspace by the humans, and I like the word,” Yumichika said as he rummaged into the bag again.

“Now, Ikkaku enjoys pain. Ichigo, on the other hand, is more of a pleasure seeker. Humans refer to Ikkaku’s type as a painslut, and Ichigo’s as a pleasureslut. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy the other type of scene, but pleasure is more centered on sexual interactions or sensation.” Yumichika moved over where Ichigo knelt. “Up, pet,” he said and Ichigo stood up quickly, glancing up at Yumichika’s face.

“There we are, sweet pet, I’ll have you now.” Ichigo’s breath quickened. After the night before he was wound very tightly. “Come, here we are,” he said and led Ichigo onto the bench that Ikkaku had been on. He gasped and looked at Yumichika nervously.

“Now, you silly thing, you know I won’t flog you like I do Ikkaku, I do wish you’d quit worrying over that,” he said with a sigh as he kissed Ichigo’s head. Ichigo felt somewhat unstable on it though.

“Yumi-sama,” he said finally.

“Yes, pet?” Yumichika said as he came over to him.

“Please, I don’t feel…feel…secure…” he said.

Yumichika smiled. “Of course, pet, just a moment,” he said as he moved around. He took Ichigo’s wrist cuffs and slipped the rings into clips there. He moved around and did the same with the ankle cuffs. “There now, better my sweet pet.”

Yumichika moved around and reached a hand under the yukata and smirked. “My, you are so easily aroused, pet,” he muttered as Ichigo held back a whimper at his touch. Yumichika pulled a ring out of the pocket of his yukata and worked it down Ichigo’s cock. He gasped a bit at the sensation. “Now, now, you know you aren’t to come without my permission, pet. And I do know how hard it is for you to hold on when I play with you extensively like I am about to.”

Ichigo’s heart beat a rapid staccato in his chest in sheer anticipation. Yumichika pulled a plug from his pocket and showed it to Renji and Rukia. “Now, remember, this is one of those things that you must be sure of. Ichigo enjoys orgasm control. It is, like his cuffs and collar, symbolic. By asserting my control over a very primal area of his nature, it mimics the control he must assert over the hollow instincts.”

Yumichika put the plug back into his pocket and pulled the vial of lube out. “Now, as both your subs are male, there must be some very important rules to go by.”

Yumichika coated his fingers with it before he flipped the back of Ichigo’s yukata over and smirked at the goosebumps that coated his flesh. “Ah, sweet pet,” he muttered as he slid his hand down and worked his fingers into him with the lube. Ichigo pressed his face into the bench and whimpered. “Now, it takes preparation, especially at first,” he said as he slid his fingers back and forth, leaving Ichigo panting against the bench. He took out the plug next, coating it with the same lube. It was a decent sized one, enough that Yumichika was certain it would push against his prostate nicely.

He slowly slipped it into him and after pushing it in and out several times, he seated it. He smiled, dropping the back of the yukata down and moving away and back to Renji and Rukia.

“Um, you’re going to leave him with that…” Renji asked, looking back at him.

“Yes, for a while. The more he edges, the better it will be when he releases,” he said as he glanced over at Uryū and Byakuya.

“Edges?” Rukia asked.

“Holding back an impending orgasm, sometimes letting them almost reach it, then stopping whatever stimulation it was, and repeating. It causes it to be much more intense and pleasurable. Now, it is time to begin with these two.”

Renji looked nervously at Rukia and swallowed. “Don’t be nervous,” Yumichika said as he walked over to Byakuya first. “You are the master,” he said as he reached down and grabbed Byakuya by the collar. Byakuya looked up, somewhat surprised at Yumichika who was pulling him to his feet.

“Hmm, looking over your desires, boy, seems that you have an intense desire to have control taken from you. You want to be made to beg and plead, and you want to be put down and into your place, yes?” Yumichika asked, fingers still holding tightly to the ring in the collar. When Byakuya hesitated he yanked upward, lifting him up. “A master has asked you a question, boy. You answer.”

“Yes, Yumi-sama,” he said, having easily picked that up just by watching.

Yumichika let go and turned to Renji. “He is not your captain. You are his master. Act like it, Renji. Perhaps, if you are interested, I may let you take my pet to completion. Or perhaps Uryū should be given that privilege,” Yumichika said as he turned to him.

Uryū’s face flushed immediately. His heart was racing and he had no idea what was going to happen. He’d done the papers, and he’d been very insistent that he would not have sex with a woman. However, the thought of being able to… He swallowed hard and tried to not look up. As odd as it was, there was something comforting about being so focused on doing what he’d seen the others do. He still gasped when Rukia slipped her fingers through the ring and hauled him up to his feet. He didn’t think that Rukia was that strong, but then he supposed that she was a Shinigami, and he was only human.

“Now, there will be differences between how you two interact with these two,” Yumichika said, glancing at Renji and Rukia. “Uryū indicated he is only interested in sexual activity with another male. However, I noticed he did not find the idea of a female using objects on him in that same sense. This isn’t an unusual thing, Rukia. You must realize that sex is not the only thing in this for any of them. It is an excellent means of control and release, but it is not the only thing. Now, I might offer a solution for Uryū’s particular desire set…” Yumichika said as he circled where Uryū stood.

“What is that?” Rukia asked thoughtfully.

“Simple, he will be taken by, or take, from one of these others. I’ll allow him to have my pet tonight, and see how he does with it,” he said thoughtfully. “The release of sexual tension and desire can be incredibly satisfying and encourage working toward doing this again.”

Byakuya had followed Yumichika’s moves from under his lids, trying not to look like he was watching him. “’Kuya, it would see, is the name your master has chosen for you, boy,” Yumichika said with a smirk. “That will be what you are called here in this room. Now you, you are an interesting one. Carnal desires cloaked in deep seated control. Unlike Uryū who is lacking control, you have too much. You want it taken from you, and not in the same way as Uryū. Renji’s approach to you worked because he told you that that’s what he wanted.”

There was no question to it, Yumichika turned to Renji. “Now, in your boy’s case, his desires will be about losing control to you. This can be a process, and considering how much control and power he has in daily life, he may resist you. You must not waver. He wants you to take his control so that he no longer has to be the one in charge. His desires are to be the one that is taken care of, the one that is allowed to simply sense the world around him without pressure. You, Renji, your job is to do that. For him, I would say cross play will be good, in particular with Uryū and Ichigo, but also in the sense of using his desires in unexpected ways. You will have to be creative, Renji, or you will end up having a sub that controls you.”

Yumichika paced around the bench where Ichigo was fully engrossed in his current situation. He reached out and ran a hand over his head. Ichigo lifted his head and Yumichika saw the hooded look. He nodded thoughtfully. “Considering the episode last night, I’ve decided that Ichigo needs more than me to control him.”

He looked at them and leaned against the side of the bench. Renji and Rukia exchanged a glance. Yumichika sighed.

“I feared that he would be hard to control alone. I had hoped that Ikkaku would be sufficient to help me, but his condition is worsening. While I do retain control, the hollow surfaced today to beg for help. I recognized the signs in both of you,” he said, looking between Renji and Rukia. “I recognized them in Uryū and Byakuya. However, I doubt I would ever spoke of it to any of you if it weren’t for Ichigo’s condition. I speak of cross playing for a reason. This will become a unit, a group. While Ichigo is mine, and mine alone, Renji and Rukia, you will become two people that I can give power to when necessary. The same is said for your two boys. This creates a safety net, both for us, and them.” Yumichika sighed and looked upward. “We also may find a way of letting them lean on each other for comfort and protection.”

Rukia frowned. “What do you mean?”

Yumichika glanced where Uryū and Byakuya were both watching him. Now was not the time for protocols though. “Ichigo needs more than control. He needs to feel wanted and needed…like he has a reason to fight. I’m growing more and more fond of him, but my heart belongs to Ikkaku, you all know this. While I can still love him, there is something missing for him because of this. So, this is a way to explore things between him and others of a submissive station, those beside him, rather than above him.”

Yumichika smiled and looked at Renji and then to Rukia. “We will see how these things play out. For now, the first couple times that we begin to train Byakuya and Uryū, I will take lead, more to demonstrate.”

With that, Yumichika nodded and walked over to Byakuya and grasped the ring at his throat and drug him across to the center of the room where Ichigo lay on the bench. To Yumichika’s surprise, Byakuya didn’t resist, though he did seem somewhat surprised. Yumichika shoved him over where he was leaning now over the side, hands resting on Ichigo’s back. He blinked as he felt the rapid beating of his heart through his back. He was still feeling strange about this situation, but something about it made him feel freer. He looked up as Yumichika drug Uryū to the bench as well, shoving him over Ichigo on the other side as he had Byakuya. Uryū for a second didn’t know where to put his hands because he was leaning over his ass.

Yumichika sighed and grabbed both his hands and place them on Ichigo’s ass as he leaned there. “Lean like that, do not press down on him, do not stand up. Remain as such until you are told otherwise.”

Yumichika moved away, leaving them like that. He stood back and watched with Renji and Rukia.

“What are you doing?” Renji asked as he watched them stand there.

“Testing. I don’t doubt Byakuya can hold a position like this for an infinite amount of time, but Uryū may not be able to do so. This is where the difference between them as Shinigami and human must be taken into account. You can see, from the position, he’s leaning just enough to reach the other side Ichigo’s body. You can see that his hands are starting to tremble after a short while. Uryū is, by human standards, in good shape, but he does not come near Shinigami abilities. Now watch,” he said with a smirk.

Uryū wasn’t sure how long he could stand like this. He was having more difficulty than he thought remaining like this. It wasn’t even that he was leaning that far forward, but it was enough his back muscles were starting to clench and spasm. He bit his lip and tried to hold it. He didn’t know why he was doing this, but he had to show them that he could. He could do this. He could feel Ichigo’s body under his hands, the warmth from him was almost more than he could take as he swallowed convulsively.

Ichigo gasped out suddenly and Uryū tried to stand back. He hadn’t realized he was pushing down too hard on him. He felt hands on him, pulling him to stand up. He looked to see Yumichika standing there.

“Ah, now, you didn’t listen very well, hum?” he said to him. Uryū had seen what he’d done to Ikkaku and he felt a shot of complete…what? He couldn’t name it. It wasn’t fear, but it wasn’t apprehension. Was it anticipation? Curiosity?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…I couldn’t stand…” he stammered but winced when Yumichika slapped him. It wasn’t hard, or even painful.

“Stop, you will abide by protocol. Now, speaking of. Stand up, boy,” he said to Byakuya. He stood up straight and looked over at Yumichika.

Yumichika went over the things he’d already taught Ichigo with them, circling them as he spoke with hands tucked at the base of his spine. He had them repeat them three times each. He paused and looked them over. He was trying to decide how far to actually take them this first time. Basic instructions were well and good…but…

“Now, for tonight, I’ll allow you both pleasures of release with my pet. He is more than a little ready to have the ring he wears removed. So, you will do as I tell you. Byakuya, you will allow you his mouth, and Uryū, as interested as you are in my pet, I’ll give you the privilege of taking him,” Yumichika said as he gauged their responses.

Renji was flushed nearly as red as his hair as he watched Byakuya move toward the front of the bench and look down at Ichigo where he lay with his face turned to the side and eyes squeezed closed. Yumichika came over and tipped his head upward and he blinked in surprise because Byakuya was standing in front of him. “Pet, your fellow submissives will be enjoying you by my request. Now, I’ll be here beside you. If you need to stop, do you remember how?”

Ichigo nodded and tapped his hand against the side twice enough to make the rings rattle in the cuffs. “Yes, Yumi-sama.”

“Good, sweet pet. Now, show Byakuya what you’ve learned so far?” he said with a smirk.

Ichigo swallowed and nodded. Yumichika looked at Byakuya. “Do not choke him. He is not trained well enough in this yet. You will let him lead how much he can handle until I decide otherwise.”

He moved around to the other side as Byakuya stared at him for a long moment. “Well, boy, go on, I’ve told you already what to do. Now do it.”

Byakuya hesitated a moment longer before he felt someone’s hand on the back of his neck. He looked to see Renji was standing beside him and pressing his head down somewhat. “Do as you are told, ‘Kuya. Or I’ll have Yumi-sama teach me how to use those flogs tonight.”

Byakuya felt a rush through his body as he spoke. Was this strange? Was it weird that he found Renji doing this to him so…so…wonderful? He swallowed and pushed his hakama down and freed himself. Renji smiled and reached out and gently touched him. Byakuya flinched a bit at someone else’s hand on him. “Come now, ‘Kuya, look at you now,” he said in his ear. “You’re hard and dripping, are you this much of a slut?”

Renji felt his body flinch and he smirked. He wanted to be humiliated. Oh, such sweetness, he thought as he grasped him at the base of his cock and stroked him slowly a few times. “Hmm, you’re so slick already. Here,” Renji muttered and pushed Byakuya forward by pressing his hand at the base of his spine.

Ichigo’s eyes were bleary and honestly he wasn’t really thinking of much as he slipped his lips around Byakuya. He felt Renji’s hand in his hair and tried his best to do what he’d been shown so far. It wasn’t much, of course, not yet, but Ichigo knew he’d become batter at pleasuring with his mouth. He knew that he could. He gasped and locked his jaw though when he felt the plug being slid out of him.

“Now, you,” Yumichika said with a smile as he plunged the plug in and out of Ichigo’s ass a few times. He saw that Uryū’s eyes were glued to what he was doing. “Boy, do you want to fuck him?” Yumichika said as he put the plug into a bin to be washed and looked at him.

Uryū wasn’t sure because there was a both fear and exhilaration running through him. He couldn’t help that since the first day he’d met Ichigo, this thought had occurred more than once. Still, in the back of his mind he worried that he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to.

He felt smaller hands on him. Rukia was there beside him and she looked up at him. “Don’t hesitate so much, you’ve had your instructions. Do as you’ve been told.”

Yumichika knew what was wrong with him. “Boy, don’t fret. Ichigo has consented to all of this already. He knows how to stop this if he wants to do so. He understands what is happening.”

Uryū nodded slowly as Rukia’s hands move around and unbuttoned him. She guided his hands down to himself and smiled as he pulled himself free. “Go on, you’ve been given permission. You want to, don’t you, boy?” she said.

Uryū lost control then and grabbed Ichigo’s hips and plunged down into him. He immediately almost went off. He groaned and began moving in him slowly. “Don’t come until I tell you,” Rukia said behind him. “If you do, you’ll never be allowed this permission again.”

The intensity was almost undoing both of them as Renji and Rukia guided Byakuya and Uryū. Yumichika circled them and watched, wanting to see how well both of them could hold themselves in check under their Doms’ guidance. Renji was reminding Byakuya that he wasn’t to finish unless he was told to do so. Yumichika could see the strain on both Byakuya and Uryū. Good, he thought to himself.

Yumichika came around beside them and reached under Ichigo to slip the ring off of him. He gasped out load and moaned as Yumichika felt him dripping heavily. He looked at Renji and nodded to him.

“’Kuya, fill his mouth,” he whispered to him. Renji still had a hand clutched around the base, mostly to keep him from thrusting too far into Ichigo’s mouth. He felt him go over and marveled at what it felt like to hold him as he went over.

Ichigo managed to get through him releasing easily enough but then his head dropped to the bench as he tried desperately not to orgasm until Yumichika said to do so. Renji had moved Byakuya back to one of the futons and was just sitting with him, running hands over Byakuya’s now mussed dark hair. Yumichika moved and knelt down beside him and captured his mouth in a deep, long kiss. When he moved back and smiled at him, he licked a long stripe up his cheek to his ear and whispered. “You have permission, pet.”

Ichigo didn’t need more encouragement than those words. Uryū had been striking at the right angle that it was almost too much for Ichigo to stand. He felt Yumichika’s hands on his face again and he just wanted to feel him again. Rukia nodded and looked at Uryū. “When he goes, you are allowed,” she said quietly. She knew that he wouldn’t last when Ichigo went over.

Ichigo held for a moment longer before he let out a long, low growling sound and felt it hit him hard. His hands fluttered against the bindings and he knew if he hadn’t been attached to the bench he would have fallen off. Yumichika occupied his mouth again and he felt Uryū keenly even so. Every time he pressed forward, Ichigo thought he would just explode all over again.

Uryū hadn’t really expected how tightly Ichigo’s body squeezed down on him and he gasped out as he went over without any further warning. He was glad Rukia had already told him he could come. He wouldn’t have lasted as he felt the body under him quiver and clench on him. He nearly fell forward but Rukia kept him upright. He stepped back and nearly fell to his knees, his whole world in some sort of deep haze. He felt Rukia sit him down and someone was beside him. Without thinking he reached for whoever it was and started kissing whoever it was. They responded, and after a few moments of intensity he felt his mind clear and found he was entangled in Ichigo’s arms and legs on the futon, both panting.

Yumichika smiled at them and nodded to Rukia as he continued to stroke Ichigo’s hair and Rukia rubbed Uryū’s back for a long while. Ikkaku picked up things and smiled at Yumichika. The hollow hadn’t surfaced. This was incredibly good for them.


End file.
